A study of the prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms in school-aged children of Zhalal-Abad

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AtD) is one of the topical challenges of pediatrics due to its high prevalence, an early onset, and fast development of chronic forms. The aim of the study was to obtain data on the prevalence of the AtD symptoms in children of the school age in the city of Zhalal-Abad. Material and methods. The study was conducted by questionnaire survey (ISAAC program) among 8th-grade schoolchildren and among parents of the first-graders in 23 schools of Zhalal-Abad. 4235 schoolchildren of different ethnic groups aged 7—8 and 13—14 years were surveyed. Results and discussion. The trial results, which were verified and accepted by the ISAAC International Center (Oakland, New Zealand), revealed rather high incidence of the AtD symptoms in schoolchildren of Zhalal-Abad. The presence of this disease was detected in 5.25% of children. Among 4235 schoolchildren aged 7—8 and 13—14 years, AtD was found in 2.7 and 7.8% children, respectively. A comparison the obtained results for the AtD prevalence with that in other regions of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation revealed that the AtD prevalence was actually the same as in Bishkek, but higher than in Cheboksary. AtD occurs 2.8 times more frequently in the 8 th -graders than in the first-graders. The gender differences in the prevalence of AtD in the group of children aged 7—8 years were statistically insignificant. Conclusions. The regional versions of the standardized questionnaire of the «International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood» program in the Kyrgyz and Uzbek languages may be used for detecting the AtD symptoms in children at cohort and individual levels.