Survey on the Prevalence of Allergic Rhinitis in Junior High School Students in Isfahan, Iran

Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common form of nose inflammatory disease that occurs when the mucosal immune system overreacts to environmental allergens especially in the air. It’s absolutely clear that the prevalence of AR varies between different countries, and even between the various areas of a country. The purpose of present investigation is to determine the prevalence of AR, as most common allergic disorders, in the children of middle schools in Isfahan, Iran. Materials and Methods This investigation performed from February 2016 to July 2016, thoroughly, 1191 Junior high school children aged 13-14 years old were screened in our study. Authenticated ISAAC questionnaire was interviewer-administered to gather data on parentally informed symptoms, clinician diagnoses and environmental exposures. Results: The students were averagely 13.57+ 0.5 years old; 779 (65.4%) of them had been suffering from AR and 696 (58.4%) of them had the symptoms of rhinitis over the preceding year. Symptoms of conjunctivitis such as Itch and watery eyes have been reported in 35.1% of cases. Among examined students, 644/1191 (54.1%) were females (P= 0.000). The relationship of allergic rhinitis and exposure to parental smoking, domestic and type of feeding in infancy were not significant (P= 0.655, 0.459, 0.946, respectively), but exposure to house planting was statistically significant (P=0.000). Daily activity was affected in 43(3.6%). Conclusion Prevalence of allergic rhinitis was considerably high in Junior high school students of Isfahan and frequently is undiagnosed. In addition the association of allergic with gender and keeping house plants was significant.