Prevalence of childhood asthma, rhinitis and eczema in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe

Abstract

There is evidence that the prevalence of allergies and asthma differs between populations in western and eastern Europe. This study investigated the prevalence of wheezing, rhinitis and eczema among schoolchildren in urban and rural areas of Scandinavia and the formerly socialist countries of Eastern Europe. A total of 79,000 children from two age groups (13-14 yrs and 6-7 yrs) in 18 study centres responded to a questionnaire within the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Children (ISAAC). The 12 month period prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and atopic eczema was calculated. The prevalence of wheezing among the 13-14 yr old children was 11.2-19.7% in Finland and Sweden, 7.6-8.5% in Estonia, Latvia and Poland and 2.6-5.9% in Albania, Romania, Russia, Georgia and Uzbekistan (except Samarkand). The prevalence of itching eyes and flexural dermatitis varied in a similar manner between the three regions. The regional differences were less pronounced among the 6-7 yr old children in the seven participating centres. The highest prevalence of rhinitis was recorded in April-July in Scandinavia and during the winter months in the other countries. The prevalence of atopy-related disorders was higher in Scandinavia than in Estonia, Latvia and Poland, which in turn had a higher prevalence than five other countries of eastern Europe with a culture less similar to western Europe. This supports the hypothesis that "Western life style" is associated with a high prevalence of childhood allergy.

Asthma and atopy – the price of affluence?

“…Nicolai et al (12) showed in a study with 5313 adults from the Western and 2617 adults from the Eastern part of the country that a similar West-East gradient in the prevalence of atopy (defined by specific IgE levels) could be found also among adults, albeit only in those aged <40 years. Later on, these results have been replicated in several studies among children and adults performed in Sweden and Poland (13), Sweden and Estonia (14), Finland and Russia (15), in the Baltic area (16) and in a comparison between Sweden, the Baltic countries and Uzbekistan (17).…”

“…They also showed that old-fashioned and less urban living conditions conferred protection against atopic diseases (30,31). The differences in prevalence of atopic diseases between Eastern and Western Europe have been found to be largely limited to populations born after the late 1950s, at a time when the lifestyle between the two parts of the continent began to drift apart (12,14,17,32,33).…”

Expression of Activation Markers and Cytokine mRNA by Peripheral Blood CD4 and CD8 T Cells in Atopic and Nonatopic Childhood Asthma: Effect of Inhaled Glucocorticoid Therapy

“…For comparisons of changes in diary card variables, means of the daily scores in the first and final weeks of the trial were compared ( Table 2). 2 analysis was used to examine the proportions of atopic asthmatics and nonasthmatics sensitized to particular allergens. Correlations have been analyzed using Pearson regression analysis.…”

“…2 analysis showed that there were no significant differences in the proportions of the atopic asthmatics and atopic nonasthmatics sensitized to any of the panel of allergens used for skin-prick testing with the exception of dog dander, where sensitization was more prevalent in atopic asthmatics (P Ͻ .001; data not shown). There were no significant differences in disease severity (as assessed by lung function and metacholine PD20) and duration between the atopic and nonatopic asthmatics ( Table 1).…”

“…[1][2][3] Although it is one of the most common diseases in childhood, its cellular and molecular pathology have not been studied frequently in children.…”