ASTHMA AND RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS IN URBAN AND RURAL SAUDI-ARABIA

The aim of this study was to contrast the prevalence of allergic sympt oms in children living in urban and rural areas of Saudi Arabia and to investigate factors associated with any differences found, A cross-se ctional questionnaire survey was conducted of a social class-stratifie d sample of 1,020 urban and 424 rural 12 yr old children, recording sy mptoms of current and past allergic disease and doctors' diagnoses, to gether with nationality and the fathers' educational level and occupat ions, A significantly greater prevalence of allergic symptoms was foun d in urban than in rural children and in Saudi than in non-Saudi Arab children. Males were more likely to have some respiratory symptoms and Females had more eye and skin symptoms. Educational level and occupat ion of the father did not influence the likelihood of having symptoms, Logistic regression analyses showed that urban residence and Saudi na tionality were the two main risk factors associated with asthmatic sym ptoms. There is likely to have been a recent increase in the prevalenc e of allergic disease in Saudi children associated with increased affl uence, which has not affected non-Saudi migrants moving into the same environment to the same extent. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the environment, possibly through changes in lifestyle and patte rns of infection, influences the expression of allergic disease.