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Indian Pediatr 2009;46: 26 2 |
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Prevalence of Allergic Rhinitis, Allergic
Conjunctivitis and Atopic Dermatitis in Children with Recurrent
Wheeze |
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Jai Prakash Singla,
Yogesh Parashar,
Department of Pediatrics, Holy Family Hospital, Okhla
Road, New Delhi 110 025, India.
E-mail:
[email protected]
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Abstract
We studied 260 children with recurrent wheeze for the
presence of allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and atopic
dermatitis by a questionnaire based survey. We observed that 35% wheezers
had allergic rhinitis, 15% had allergic conjunctivitis and 19% had atopic
dermatitis. Nasal and eye allergies were often not recognized.
Key words: Atopy, Asthma, Allergic conjunctivitis, Allergic
Rhinitis, Wheeze.
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Allergic disorders have become a major
burden in affluent Western societies as well as in developing countries.
Very often a patient has more than one allergic condition(1).
We conducted a prospective, observational,
questionnaire based study in the Department of Pediatrics, Holy Family
Hospital, New Delhi between June 2005 and December 2006. Two hundred and
sixty children between 2 and 12 years of age, with history of recurrent
wheeze in the past one year, were studied using ISAAC Phase-I
questionnaires with some modifications(2). The questions were regarding
the presence of wheeze and other allergies in the children, and their
severity and effect on their lifestyle. The questions were asked from
parents of younger children and directly from the older children under
parental supervision. No clinical examination was performed for the study.
We found a very high prevalence of other allergies in
children with recurrent wheeze (Table I). About 35% of our
wheezers had nasal allergy, 15% had eye allergy and 19% of the study
population had skin allergy. More than half of the wheezers had either one
or more allergies associated with wheeze, with most undiagnosed. Only 24%
of recurrent wheezers were ever given a diagnostic label of asthma. We did
not find any significant difference regarding the overall prevalence of
other allergies between the young and older wheezers.
Table I
Recurrent Wheeze and other Allergies
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Wheeze and other
allergies |
Cases
(n=260) |
% |
| Wheeze + Rhinitis |
51 |
19.6 |
| Wheeze + Dermatitis |
31 |
11.9 |
| Wheeze + Rhinitis + Conjunctivitis |
22 |
8.5 |
| Wheeze + Rhinitis + Dermatitis |
11 |
4.2 |
| Wheeze + Conjunctivitis |
08 |
3.1 |
| Wheeze + Rhinitis + Conjunctivitis + Dermatitis |
07 |
2.7 |
| Wheeze + Conjunctivitis + Dermatitis |
01 |
0.4 |
| Wheeze only |
129 |
49.6 |
The present study is limited due to a small study
population, being a hospital-based survey, differences in comprehension of
the questions by the respondents and lack of clinical examination and
specific tests. We have not looked at the prevalence of wheeze or
allergies in the community, nor have we attempted to compare the
prevalence of other allergies in recurrent wheezers with non-wheezers.
References
1. Von Mutius E. The burden of childhood asthma. Arch
Dis Child 2000: 82: 112-115.
2. Asher MI, Keil U, Anderson HR, Beasley R, Crane J,
Martinez F, et al. International Study of Asthma and Allergies in
Childhood (ISAAC): rationale and methods. Eur Respir J 1995; 8: 483-491.
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