Department of Internal Medicine, UAE University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Allergy. 2010 Feb;65(2):208-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2009.02123.x. Epub 2009 Sep 7.
Epidemiological studies mainly from Europe, the USA and Asia indicate a high prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) in modern societies. However, little is known about AR among the heterogeneous population of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
To estimate the prevalence of AR and its independent risk factors in Al-Ain City, UAE.
We used a validated, self-administered questionnaire modified from the ISAAC study to collect data from a two stage randomly selected sample of 10 000 school children. Overall, 7550 subjects (aged 13 years and above, siblings, and their parents) responded. We assessed the prevalence of AR (both crude and standardized prevalence of previous 12 months) as well as the independent relationship of AR with age, gender, education, nationality and family history by means of logistic regression.
The response rate was 76%. A total of 6543 subjects (median age 30 years) were included in the final analysis. Self-reported prevalence of AR (having symptoms in the past 12 months) was 36%, while adjusted values for sex/age yielded a prevalence of 32%. Regression analysis revealed that AR was independently associated with family history, Arab origin, younger age, female gender and higher education.
The relatively high prevalence of AR found in this study may be attributable to modernization and genetic factors. Further studies on the impact of rapid environmental and cultural changes on AR in the Arab countries are needed and currently planned in conjunction with GA(2)LEN (Global Allergy and Asthma European Network).
来自欧洲、美国和亚洲的流行病学研究表明，在现代社会中，过敏性鼻炎（AR）的患病率很高。然而，对于阿拉伯联合酋长国（UAE）这种人群多样化的地区，AR 的情况却鲜为人知。
评估阿联酋艾因市 AR 的患病率及其独立危险因素。
我们使用了经过验证的、来自 ISAAC 研究的自填式问卷，对阿联酋艾因市的一个两阶段随机抽取的 10000 名学童进行了数据收集。共有 7550 名学生（年龄在 13 岁及以上、他们的兄弟姐妹及其父母）作出回应。我们通过逻辑回归评估了 AR 的患病率（包括未经调整的 12 个月前患病率和标准化患病率），以及 AR 与年龄、性别、教育程度、国籍和家族史之间的独立关系。
应答率为 76%。共有 6543 名受试者（中位数年龄 30 岁）纳入最终分析。自我报告的 AR 患病率（过去 12 个月有症状）为 36%，而经性别/年龄调整后的患病率为 32%。回归分析显示，AR 与家族史、阿拉伯血统、年龄较小、女性和较高的教育程度有关。
本研究发现 AR 的患病率相对较高，这可能归因于现代化和遗传因素。需要进一步研究快速的环境和文化变化对阿拉伯国家 AR 的影响，目前正在与 GA(2)LEN（全球过敏和哮喘欧洲网络）合作进行相关计划。
