Growing problem of allergy in population of children and adolescents living in Polish cities.

Allergy is a worldwide medical problem and prevalence of allergic diseases is on the rise. In the study a population of 7494 children and adolescents living in Cracow responded to a questionnaire based on the ISAAC study complemented with questions concerning food allergy. 49.1% of respondents reported symptoms suggestive of allergic disease. 52.7% of them (25.9% of respondents in total) had not received any treatment despite the reported symptoms. The most frequently reported allergic disease was allergic rhinitis followed by atopic dermatitis, asthma, food allergy and allergic contact dermatitis. In the adolescents group allergic rhinitis was followed by asthma. 487 voluntary applicants were further analysed in order to confirm specific allergic disease. Given the final diagnosis, allergic rhinitis was also the most common disease. Interestingly in both categories (preliminary and final diagnoses) we noticed that it is substantially more frequent in the older group which in our opinion can be linked to the impact of polluted urban environment but there is a need for further research in this area.