Ibrahim Nassem Mohamed, Almarzouqi Fatima Ibrahim, Al Melaih Fatima Abdulla, Farouk Hisham, Alsayed Mohamed, AlJassim Fatma Mohamed
Ministry of Health and Prevention / Primary Health Care Department, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
AstraZeneca Gulf, United Arab Emirates.
World Allergy Organ J. 2021 Oct 6;14(10):100588. doi: 10.1016/j.waojou.2021.100588. eCollection 2021 Oct.
Asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis are the most common chronic inflammatory disorders in children worldwide. These conditions place a significant burden on the healthcare system due to their multiple related complications and the necessity of hospital visits. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of asthma and allergic diseases among school children aged 6-7 years and 13-14 years in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study that recruited children from March to June 2019 via school class registers in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, UAE. The Arabic and English versions of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) core questionnaires on asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis were completed by parents or legal guardians of children aged 6-7 years, and by the children themselves in those aged 13-14 years.
In this study, we included 3436 children (1944 children aged 6-7 years and 1793 children aged 13-14 years). We estimated the prevalence of asthma (11.9%), wheezing (44.2%), allergic rhinitis (46.5%), hay fever (22.1%), and atopic dermatitis (12.9%) in the 6- to 7-year-old group. In the 13- to 14-year-old group, the prevalence was 9.8%, 33.1%, 51.3%, 19.9%, and 14.6%, respectively. The prevalence of any history of asthma was higher in boys than girls in the 6- to 7-year-old group (13.9% vs. 10%) and in the 13- to 14-year-old group (11.2% vs. 8.7%). In the 6- to 7-year-old group, the highest prevalence of asthma, sneezing, and atopic dermatitis was observed in Dubai, Ajman, and Umm Al Quwain, respectively. In the 13- to 14-year-old group, the highest prevalence of asthma was observed in Ras Al Khaimah, and the highest prevalence of sneezing and atopic dermatitis was observed in Sharjah.
We found that the prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in the UAE is comparable to that in neighboring countries; the prevalence of asthma, wheezing, and hay fever was higher in the 6- to 7-year-old group, while in the 13- to 14-year-old group, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis was higher. Overall, the prevalence of any history of asthma was highest in Ras Al Khaimah, followed by Dubai, and lowest in Ajman. Our findings suggest that allergic disorders represent a healthcare burden in the UAE and more efforts are needed to organize nationwide campaigns to detect undiagnosed children to overcome the burden caused by these conditions.
哮喘、过敏性鼻炎和特应性皮炎是全球儿童中最常见的慢性炎症性疾病。由于这些疾病存在多种相关并发症以及需要住院就诊，它们给医疗系统带来了沉重负担。本研究旨在评估阿拉伯联合酋长国（阿联酋）迪拜和北部酋长国6至7岁及13至14岁学龄儿童中哮喘和过敏性疾病的患病率及严重程度。
这是一项多中心横断面研究，于2019年3月至6月通过阿联酋迪拜和北部酋长国的学校班级登记册招募儿童。6至7岁儿童的父母或法定监护人完成了关于哮喘、过敏性鼻炎和特应性皮炎的阿拉伯语和英语版儿童哮喘和过敏国际研究（ISAAC）核心问卷，13至14岁儿童则由他们自己完成。
本研究纳入了3436名儿童（1944名6至7岁儿童和1793名13至14岁儿童）。我们估计6至7岁组中哮喘患病率为11.9%、喘息患病率为44.2%、过敏性鼻炎患病率为46.5%、花粉症患病率为22.1%、特应性皮炎患病率为12.9%。在13至14岁组中，患病率分别为9.8%、33.1%、51.3%、19.9%和14.6%。在6至7岁组中，哮喘既往史在男孩中的患病率高于女孩（13.9%对10%），在13至14岁组中也是如此（11.2%对8.7%）。在6至7岁组中，迪拜的哮喘患病率最高，阿治曼的打喷嚏患病率最高，乌姆盖万的特应性皮炎患病率最高。在13至14岁组中，哈伊马角的哮喘患病率最高，沙迦的打喷嚏和特应性皮炎患病率最高。
我们发现阿联酋哮喘、过敏性鼻炎和特应性皮炎的患病率与邻国相当；哮喘、喘息和花粉症的患病率在6至7岁组中较高，而在13至14岁组中，过敏性鼻炎和特应性皮炎的患病率较高。总体而言，哮喘既往史的患病率在哈伊马角最高，其次是迪拜，在阿治曼最低。我们的研究结果表明，过敏性疾病在阿联酋构成了医疗负担，需要做出更多努力来组织全国性活动，以发现未确诊的儿童，从而减轻这些疾病造成的负担。
