Cargando…

Prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis are the most common chronic inflammatory disorders in children worldwide. These conditions place a significant burden on the healthcare system due to their multiple related complications and the necessity of hospital visits. This study aim...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Ibrahim, Nassem Mohamed, Almarzouqi, Fatima Ibrahim, Al Melaih, Fatima Abdulla, Farouk, Hisham, Alsayed, Mohamed, AlJassim, Fatma Mohamed
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: World Allergy Organization 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8503660/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34703522
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.waojou.2021.100588
_version_ 1784581175635869696
author Ibrahim, Nassem Mohamed
Almarzouqi, Fatima Ibrahim
Al Melaih, Fatima Abdulla
Farouk, Hisham
Alsayed, Mohamed
AlJassim, Fatma Mohamed
author_facet Ibrahim, Nassem Mohamed
Almarzouqi, Fatima Ibrahim
Al Melaih, Fatima Abdulla
Farouk, Hisham
Alsayed, Mohamed
AlJassim, Fatma Mohamed
author_sort Ibrahim, Nassem Mohamed
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis are the most common chronic inflammatory disorders in children worldwide. These conditions place a significant burden on the healthcare system due to their multiple related complications and the necessity of hospital visits. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of asthma and allergic diseases among school children aged 6–7 years and 13–14 years in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, United Arab Emirates (UAE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study that recruited children from March to June 2019 via school class registers in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, UAE. The Arabic and English versions of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) core questionnaires on asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis were completed by parents or legal guardians of children aged 6–7 years, and by the children themselves in those aged 13–14 years. RESULTS: In this study, we included 3436 children (1944 children aged 6–7 years and 1793 children aged 13–14 years). We estimated the prevalence of asthma (11.9%), wheezing (44.2%), allergic rhinitis (46.5%), hay fever (22.1%), and atopic dermatitis (12.9%) in the 6- to 7-year-old group. In the 13- to 14-year-old group, the prevalence was 9.8%, 33.1%, 51.3%, 19.9%, and 14.6%, respectively. The prevalence of any history of asthma was higher in boys than girls in the 6- to 7-year-old group (13.9% vs. 10%) and in the 13- to 14-year-old group (11.2% vs. 8.7%). In the 6- to 7-year-old group, the highest prevalence of asthma, sneezing, and atopic dermatitis was observed in Dubai, Ajman, and Umm Al Quwain, respectively. In the 13- to 14-year-old group, the highest prevalence of asthma was observed in Ras Al Khaimah, and the highest prevalence of sneezing and atopic dermatitis was observed in Sharjah. CONCLUSION: We found that the prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in the UAE is comparable to that in neighboring countries; the prevalence of asthma, wheezing, and hay fever was higher in the 6- to 7-year-old group, while in the 13- to 14-year-old group, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis was higher. Overall, the prevalence of any history of asthma was highest in Ras Al Khaimah, followed by Dubai, and lowest in Ajman. Our findings suggest that allergic disorders represent a healthcare burden in the UAE and more efforts are needed to organize nationwide campaigns to detect undiagnosed children to overcome the burden caused by these conditions.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8503660
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher World Allergy Organization
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-85036602021-10-25 Prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study Ibrahim, Nassem Mohamed Almarzouqi, Fatima Ibrahim Al Melaih, Fatima Abdulla Farouk, Hisham Alsayed, Mohamed AlJassim, Fatma Mohamed World Allergy Organ J Article BACKGROUND: Asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis are the most common chronic inflammatory disorders in children worldwide. These conditions place a significant burden on the healthcare system due to their multiple related complications and the necessity of hospital visits. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of asthma and allergic diseases among school children aged 6–7 years and 13–14 years in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, United Arab Emirates (UAE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study that recruited children from March to June 2019 via school class registers in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, UAE. The Arabic and English versions of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) core questionnaires on asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis were completed by parents or legal guardians of children aged 6–7 years, and by the children themselves in those aged 13–14 years. RESULTS: In this study, we included 3436 children (1944 children aged 6–7 years and 1793 children aged 13–14 years). We estimated the prevalence of asthma (11.9%), wheezing (44.2%), allergic rhinitis (46.5%), hay fever (22.1%), and atopic dermatitis (12.9%) in the 6- to 7-year-old group. In the 13- to 14-year-old group, the prevalence was 9.8%, 33.1%, 51.3%, 19.9%, and 14.6%, respectively. The prevalence of any history of asthma was higher in boys than girls in the 6- to 7-year-old group (13.9% vs. 10%) and in the 13- to 14-year-old group (11.2% vs. 8.7%). In the 6- to 7-year-old group, the highest prevalence of asthma, sneezing, and atopic dermatitis was observed in Dubai, Ajman, and Umm Al Quwain, respectively. In the 13- to 14-year-old group, the highest prevalence of asthma was observed in Ras Al Khaimah, and the highest prevalence of sneezing and atopic dermatitis was observed in Sharjah. CONCLUSION: We found that the prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in the UAE is comparable to that in neighboring countries; the prevalence of asthma, wheezing, and hay fever was higher in the 6- to 7-year-old group, while in the 13- to 14-year-old group, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis was higher. Overall, the prevalence of any history of asthma was highest in Ras Al Khaimah, followed by Dubai, and lowest in Ajman. Our findings suggest that allergic disorders represent a healthcare burden in the UAE and more efforts are needed to organize nationwide campaigns to detect undiagnosed children to overcome the burden caused by these conditions. World Allergy Organization 2021-10-06 /pmc/articles/PMC8503660/ /pubmed/34703522 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.waojou.2021.100588 Text en © 2021 The Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Ibrahim, Nassem Mohamed
Almarzouqi, Fatima Ibrahim
Al Melaih, Fatima Abdulla
Farouk, Hisham
Alsayed, Mohamed
AlJassim, Fatma Mohamed
Prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study
title Prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study
title_full Prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study
title_short Prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study
title_sort prevalence of asthma and allergies among children in the united arab emirates: a cross-sectional study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8503660/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34703522
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.waojou.2021.100588
work_keys_str_mv AT ibrahimnassemmohamed prevalenceofasthmaandallergiesamongchildrenintheunitedarabemiratesacrosssectionalstudy
AT almarzouqifatimaibrahim prevalenceofasthmaandallergiesamongchildrenintheunitedarabemiratesacrosssectionalstudy
AT almelaihfatimaabdulla prevalenceofasthmaandallergiesamongchildrenintheunitedarabemiratesacrosssectionalstudy
AT faroukhisham prevalenceofasthmaandallergiesamongchildrenintheunitedarabemiratesacrosssectionalstudy
AT alsayedmohamed prevalenceofasthmaandallergiesamongchildrenintheunitedarabemiratesacrosssectionalstudy
AT aljassimfatmamohamed prevalenceofasthmaandallergiesamongchildrenintheunitedarabemiratesacrosssectionalstudy