High prevalence of allergy in North Cypriot children.

BACKGROUND

The ISAAC (the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) questionnaire has been used to standardize research on the prevalence of asthma in children since 1991.

AIM: In this Phase I study, the prevalence of asthma, other allergic diseases and atopy was evaluated in North Cyprus.

METHODS

The ISAAC questionnaire was distributed to grades I-V schoolchildren. Data were obtained from parents of 580 schoolchildren aged between 7 and 12 years attending a primary school in Nicosia, the capital of North Cyprus. Of those, a sub-group of 97 (16.7%) randomly selected children were evaluated by skin prick test (SPT) and lung function test (LFT).

RESULTS

The prevalence rates of asthma ever, current wheezing and SPT-positivity were 20.8%, 10% and 68%, respectively. The prevalence of atopy was significantly higher in the randomly selected subgroup of 97 (68%) patients subjected to SPT and LFT, and the house dust mite (HDM) was the allergen to which children were most frequently sensitized.

CONCLUSIONS

In northern Cyprus, the prevalence rates of asthma, allergic diseases and atopic sensitization in 7-12-year-old children are extremely high. Sensitization to HDM is a risk factor for the development of asthma.