The Prevalence of Allergy symptoms in Students in Rural Area

Background: Asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema as a common disorder in childhood, has many epidemiologic variations in different geographic areas. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of pediatric allergic disease in rural area of Babol. Methods: This analytical-cross sectional study was performed in 2012 by random sampling on 2 groups of children the first group aged 6-7 years (n=1735) and the second group aged 12-14 years (n=2080) during 2012. Data was collected by ISAAC first phase questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS 17 and Chi square test. Results: The prevalence of asthma in elementary school was 19% and in guidance school was 29.9% (p=0.000). The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in primary school in guidance school was 9.9% and 18.1%, respectively (p=0.000). There was no significant difference (p=0.223) between Elementary school (6.1%) and Guidance school (5.5%) in terms of prevalence of eczema. Conclusions: The results showed that the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis in the rural area of Babol was remarkable that was high in older age group and needs to more attention in health program for decreasing this prevalence.