Prevalence of risk factors of allergic diseases among children aged 8-9 years in Poltava region (the results of the first stage of the research)

Abstract

Introduction. According to the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI, 2016), allergy is the most common chronic disease in Europe. The aim of the investigation is to study the spread of risk factors of allergic reactions in children who are 8-9 years old of Poltava region. Materials and methods. The investigation included two stages: the 1st contained interviewing; the 2nd one – additional clinical and lab investigation of children, who require the further diagnosis specification. Results of the investigation and their discussion. 1068 children who are 8-9 years old were interviewed based on questionnaires: 56,2% males and 43,8% females. Children were divided into residents (49,2%), and villagers (50,8%). In order to identify allergic diseases the division in family was the next: the presence of bronchial asthma was present in 38 people (3,6%), allergic rhinitis or allergic conjunctivitis – 128 people (12,0%), atopic dermatitis – 54 people (5,1%), food allergy – 129 people (12,1%), medicinal allergy – 25 people (11,7%). Analyzing the influence of trigger factors, it should be noted that in the risk group there are children who received cow’s milk as substitutes for breast milk (38.1%), children who had a history of helminthal invasion (19.6%), children where parents smoke (45.9%), one third of parents (31.9%) complained of frequent respiratory viral infections in their children. Conclusion. Presented epidemiological investigation allowed studying the prevalence of diagnosed allergic diseases in children of Poltava region and determining children’s category who require additional diagnostics of chronic allergic diseases.