[Risk factors for symptoms of allergic rhinitis in adolescents in Castellón, Spain].
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the risk factor for symptoms of allergic rhinitis in adolescents in Castellón, Spain.


METHODS
A cross-sectional population based study of Phase III of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) conducted in 2002 among adolescents from 13-14 years of age. The ISAAC questionnaire was used to define cases of allergic rhinitis. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratio (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).


RESULTS
Participation was 66.8% (3,995 adolescents of the 5,981 total). The prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms in the last 12 months was 16.5% and the prevalence of nasal allergy at some point was 7.4%. Logistic regression showed that rhinoconjunctivitis was associated with being female (OR = 1.63; 95%CI: 1.33-2.00); a mother who smokes in the home (OR = 1.32; 95%CI: 1.08-1.63); a history of sinusitis (OR = 2.02; 95%CI: 1.51-2.70); and living on a street with heavy truck traffic (OR = 1.58; 95%CI: 1.02-2.44). Likewise, nasal allergy was associated with a family history of allergic rhinitis (OR = 2.62; 95%CI: 1.90-3.63); a history of sinusitis (OR = 2.65; 95% CI: 1.77-3.96); a history of bronchitis (OR = 1.68; 95%CI: 1.19-2.36); and social class, with a steady decline when comparing higher classes to lower classes.


CONCLUSIONS
Various environmental risk factors were associated with the symptoms of nasal allergies, which points to the importance of implementing specific preventive measures.
Pac-Sa
María Rosario
MR
Oficina Plan del Cáncer, Conselleria de Sanitat, Valencia, España.
Museros-Recatala
Lidón
L
Arnedo-Pena
Alberto
A
Bellido-Blasco
Juan B
JB
Puig-Barberà
Joan
J
Artero-Sivera
Adrián
A
Campos-Cruañes
Joan-Baptista
JB
Aguinaga-Ontoso
Inés
I
D000293:Adolescent; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires