Childhood allergic diseases across geographical regions of Kandy and Anuradhapura districts of Sri Lanka; where do the rates stand among other regions: experience from Global asthma network Phase 1 study.

backgroundAsthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema have been identified as the most prevalent childhood allergic diseases. However, the prevalence of these allergic diseases can vary in different regions within a country and in the world.

methodsThe objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema in schoolchildren in the Kandy and Anuradhapura districts of Sri Lanka. This was a multicentre cross sectional study carried out among children of age 6-7 years and 13-14 years attending state schools fulfilling the entry criteria of the Global Asthma Network Phase 1 study methodology.

resultsA total of 3673 children of 6-7 years and 4658 children of 13-14 years were recruited. The prevalence of current asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema were 12% (CI 10.44-13.75), 15.7% (CI 13.94-17.64) and 9.7% (CI 8.30-11.31) among 6-7 years age group and 15.3% (CI 13.66-17.09), 30.5% (CI 28.86-32.74) and 7.3% (CI 6.15-8.65) respectively among the 13-14 age group in Kandy district. The reported prevalence rates of the disease conditions were 9.9% (CI 8.72-11.22), 10.1% (CI 8.90-11.44) and 5.9% (CI 4.98-6.98) among 6-7 years age group and 14.9% (CI 13.67-16.22), 22.5% (CI 21.04-24.03) and 1.8% (CI 1.38-2.34) in the 13-14 years age group in Anuradhapura district. When comparing these prevalence rates, there is relatively a higher prevalence of childhood allergic diseases in Kandy district. This difference is statistically significant in all three allergic disease conditions (P < 0.001).

conclusionPrevalence of allergic diseases in Anuradhapura is closer to reported data in the previous studies. There is relatively higher prevalence of childhood allergic diseases among children in Kandy district.