Aim: To determine the prevalence of allergic diseases and related risk factors in 13-and 14- year-old children in Malatya, Turkey.
Material and Methods: 13-and 14-year-old students in the province of Malatya were given the questionnaire of International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) which wasvalidated.
Results: 304 (53.5%) of the 568 students were females and the mean age was 13.08±0.27 years. The lifetime prevalence of wheezing, rhinitis and atopic eczema were 11.4%, 36.4% , and 4.9%respectively, while the reported prevalence for the last 12 months were 6.3%, 13.9%and3.9%respectively. The rate of diagnosis by the physician was 6.5% for asthma, 3.9% for allergic rhinitis and 5.1% for atopic dermatitis. When the risk factors related to allergic diseases wereexamined, the risk factors associated with wheezing were; smoking at home (p = 0.022), parental history of allergic diseases (p =0.012) and cockroaches at home (p = 0.023). Risk factorrelated to rhinitis isparental history of allergic diseases (p =0.023). Risk factors associated with atopic eczemawerefemale gender (p =0.017) and breastmilk intake for less than six months (p =0.034).
Conclusion: This study is the first to investigate the prevalence of allergic disease in the 13-and 14- age group in Malatya by using the ISAAC questionnaire. The current study shows that the prevalence of allergic diseases is not low in children who are living in Malatya.
Key words: Asthma; Eczema; ISAAC; Prevalence; Rhinitis.
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