Background: Asthma and allergies have developed into the most popular chronic diseases in children. Little information is available about the prevalence of these diseases in Saudi Arabia, especially among the adolescents and in rural areas. So, our aim is to describe the prevalence of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema symptoms in the rural and urban areas from Riyadh region–Saudi Arabia.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of allergic diseases (bronchial asthma, rhinitis, and eczema) in adolescents, compare the prevalence of allergic diseases between the adolescents living in the urban area and those living in the rural area, and assess the relationship between asthma and other allergic diseases.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the intermediate and high schools in the Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. The Arabic version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC) questionnaire tool was distributed to 568 students in the rural area and 556 students in the urban area. The factors such as lifetime, 12 months, and the severity prevalence were determined for asthma, rhinitis, and eczema symptoms.
Result: The mean age of the participants was 16.5 years. The prevalence of lifetime wheeze, asthma diagnosed by physician, and wheezing during the last 12 months was 19.2%, 23.1%, and 10.3%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of lifetime wheeze between the adolescents of the rural (19%) and urban (19.4%) (p = 0.86) areas. The prevalence of rhinitis symptoms in the last 12 months among the students was 28.1%, with no significant difference between the rural and urban regions. Allergic rhinitis was highly associated with lifetime wheeze [odds ratio (OR) = 2.94, p < 0.001], asthma diagnosed by physician (OR = 2.73, p < 0.001), and exercise-induced wheeze (OR = 3.55, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The prevalence of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema in Saudi Arabia is elevated, although it is near to the reported prevalence ranges from many countries. Asthma, rhinitis, and eczema symptoms show a similar prevalence between the adolescents of the rural and urban areas. Asthma symptoms are strongly associated with rhinitis and eczema symptoms.
Key words: Asthma, allergy, adolescent, rhinitis, eczema
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