Prevalence of Allergic Rhinitis in 13-14 Year Old School Children in Hamedan

Objective: Allergic Rhinitis (AR) is an inflammatory disorder of the nasal mucosa characterized by nasal congestion, rhinorrhea and itching and often accompanied by sneezing and conjunctival irritation. Two prerequisites for the expression of AR are sensitivity to an allergen and its presence in the environment. Recognition of allergens and removal and avoidance of them can decrease the prevalence of AR. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of AR in Hamedan, Iran, and recognition of effective factors involved in expression of AR.
Methods: The study was undertaken between October 2005 and June 2006 among 13- to 14-yearold children in middle-schools of Hamedan. Data were collected using the standardized ISAAC written questionnaire for prevalence of AR and another questionnaire for effective factors on AR including gender, season of expression of AR, smoking parents, keeping pets and birds, apartment plants, breast milking and family size. In the second phase the students with AR were examined for signs of AR.
Findings: A total of 1600 (900 girls and 700 boys) children participated in the study. 17.7% of the children had symptoms of allergic rhinitis sometime in their life. There was no significant difference between prevalence of AR between boys and girls (18.6% in the boys and 17% in the girls) (P>0.05). 37.2% of the cases were perennial and 62.8% of them were seasonal or mixed type. AR was more prevalent in spring (21%). The prevalence of the disease between students with smoking parents and non smoking parents were 30.6% and 11.2% respectively (P<0.001). The prevalence of the disease between students with pets and without pets were 23.1% and 17.7% respectively (P=0.001). Presence of apartment plants, type of nutrition and family size had no effect on prevalence of AR (P>0.05). The most common signs of AR were allergic shiners (54%) and clear and dilute nasal secretion (51%).
Conclusion: Compared with previous studies conducted in other Iranian cities using similar method, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis was lower in Hamedan. The prevalence of AR may be reduced with avoidance of smoking and removal of pets.