| Abstract(Please copy/paste the abstract send to the congress) : |
Allergic Rhinitis and related risk factors among 12-18 year students in Northeast of Iran.
Authors: Hamid Reza Tolide-ie1, Jafar Hajavi2
1: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2: Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract:
Introduction: Allergic rhinitis (AR) has become a major public health problem in the world and despite the considerable research efforts, its etiology remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of AR in 12-18 year students in Gonabad, Iran 2011.
Material and methods: This cross sectional study was conducted between April and July 2011 in the city of Gonabad, Iran. Multilevel sampling method was used to select students from all middle and high schools of the city. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire (ISAAC) was used to gather information on AR. Some potential risk factors for lifetime rhinitis such as sex, season of birth, Family history of atopy, Keeping pet at home, Neonatal feeding, Passive Smoking, living place, mother’s and father’s age, birth rank and family size were assessed. In univariate analysis, Mann-Whitney U test and chi-Square test were used. Then, forward stepwise multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each variable.
Results: Out of 1627 students, 53.8% were male and mean age of children was 14.5±1.7 years. 550 children (33.8%) had positive history of rhinitis in their life and 28.6% had experienced rhinitis symptoms in the past 12 months. In univariate analysis, Passive Smoking, male sex, family history of atopy, neonatal feeding and family size were associated with AR, while, after adjustment of potential confounders in multivariate analysis, male sex (OR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.48-2.31), family size (OR= 0.93, 95%CI: 0.87-0.99), family history of atopy (OR=1.89, 95% CI: 1.47-2.44) and feeding with cow's milk in neonatal ages (OR=1.58, 95% CI: 1.11-2.24) had significant association with developing AR in any time of life.
Discussion and Conclusion: male sex, family history of atopy, neonatal feeding with cow’s milk could increase the chance of getting AR, while living in large families might slightly decrease it. This study is subject to recall bias. Studies with larger sample size in different areas using more reliable data like birth records can reach more valid results and discover new risk factors for this disorder.
Key words: Allergic rhinitis, risk factor, children. |