THE PREVALENCE OF ASTHMA AND ALLERGIC RHINITIS AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN- A COMPARITIVE CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY
Abstract
Background: the prevalence of allergy and asthma demonstrates a global discrepancy as a consequence of diverse interaction between genetic factors like ethnic composition, allergic sensitization, family history of allergic disorders and environmental risk factors.
Objective: to evaluate the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis in high school children in a public school of Jammu.
Methods: This descriptive questionnaire-based study was performed on a total of 1040 school children of age range between 10-15 years of standard 6th to 10th students from a routine public school health check up camp. Five groups were made according to the age; 10-11, 11-12, 12-13, 13-14, 14-15 years. Two allergic conditions i.e. asthma and allergic rhinitis were observed according to their symptoms. The observation of each subject was recorded and data was analyzed by using SPSS version 21.
Results: The prevalence rates of current Allergic rhinitis in boys was 57.14% and girls was 42.86%. 23.1% girls and 28.1% boys were with asthma reported having hay fever in their life. 52 (5%) out of 1040 children were suffering from both asthma and allergic rhinitis. The most common causative agent was found to be rice/wheat husk (23.06%) followed by kitchen smoke (21.15%). Pollution (13.46%) and dust (11.53%) were moderately effective and least causative agents were pollens.
Conclusion: Allergic rhinitis and asthma can adversely affect every aspect of a patient's life, including sleep quality, mood and daily activities. Prevalence of allergic rhinitis symptoms was much higher in the 13-14 year-old group of students, a result that has not changed dramatically since the first phase of the study. Further studies are warranted to identify the causes of such a high prevalence.
Keywords: Allergic Rhinitis, Asthma, Causative Agent, School Children, Quality of Life.
