Abstract
FEBRUARY 2013 AB36 Abstracts S A T U R D A Y 131 The Hygiene Hypothesis : Aeroallergen Sensitization in Allergic Rhinitis Patients Living in Rural and Urban Areas of Lebanon Carla Irani, MD, FAAAAI, Maya Mouzannar; Hotel Dieu de France hospital, Beirut, Lebanon, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. RATIONALE: The hygiene hypothesis suggests that in some rural areas,overcrowding, unhygienic conditions and larger family size were associated with a lower prevalence of allergic rhinitis and asthma. The primary objective of this study is to compare aeroallergen sensitization in patients with allergic rhinitis living in urban Beirut, and rural South of Lebanon. METHODS: It is a retrospective study observational, multivarite of allergic rhinitis patients treated between 2002 and 2010 in Beirut and the South of Lebanon. One hundred patients of each area were included in the study. RESULTS: 200 patients divided in two equal groupswere evaluatedwith a sex-ratio 1-1. Mean age of allergic rhinitis patients was 14,2 years in the South of Lebanon, and 23.4 years in Beirut. The 2 groups were statistically equivalent concerning tobacco exposure, exposure to dust mites and antibiotic intake in childhood. Patients with allergic rhinitis living in Beirut were more sensitized to pollen with a significant p50.036. There was no significant difference regarding sensitization to dust mites although the number was higher for those living in Beirut. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the prevalence of allergic disease between urban and rural areas have been observed in many parts of the world. Our study, the first of its kind in Lebanon, showed pollen sensitization to be higher in urban than rural areas. Therewas no significant difference regarding dust mites sensitization in both groups, maybe due to environmental factors or lower age. Asthma prevalence was similar in both groups.
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