title: Atopic disease among adults in Northern Russia, an area with heavy air pollution.
abstract: The cumulative incidence of atopic disease among adults was assessed in the heavily polluted Russian town Nikel on the Kola peninsula. The study was conducted in spring 1994 using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 3,368 (93.6%) of the 3,600 subjects returned a completed questionnaire. Information about atopic diseases, smoking habits and living conditions in the family was also obtained. A cumulative incidence of atopic diseases of 11% was reported in 377 adults. This was significantly more frequent in women (12.7%) than in men (9.7%). Smoking habits differed from other western countries, as 53% of males and only 10% of females smoked. Indoor damp was reported by 13% and the keeping of dogs and cats by 52%. Our study indicates that atopic diseases is less frequent among adults in a heavily polluted Arctic Russian town than in western industrialized countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Dotterud
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Falk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires