title: Prevalence of allergic rhinitis in 3-6-year-old children in Wuhan of China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Only a few prevalence studies of allergic rhinitis (AR) have been reported in China. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of AR in a population of 3-6-year-old children in Wuhan, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixteen kindergartens in Wuhan City were randomly selected; for each kindergarten, there were three classes from three grades (top, middle and bottom grade, 3-6 years old, respectively). Questionnaires generated by the authors were distributed and filled out by parents of the selected children, with a telephone interview subsequently. Skin prick test (SPT) was carried out on the children after a written consent was signed by the parents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1211 (89.5%) valid questionnaires were returned for evaluation. The adjusted current prevalence of AR in 3-6-year-old children was 10.8% with the diagnostic criterion of nasal symptoms(+) and SPTs(+). In the SPTs(+) children, the most common inhalant allergen was house dust mites (94.7%), followed by moulds (28.4%). The prevalence of AR was higher in males than that in females (13.0% vs. 7.7%, P < 0.05). 15.8% and 23.2% of AR children were sensitive to egg and milk, respectively. The percentage of children sensitive to both inhalant and food allergens was 27.4%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found an unexpectedly high prevalence of diagnosed AR in 3-6-year-old children within the investigated population. Dust mite was the most important allergen source for 3-6-year-old children in Wuhan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China. wjkong@whuh.com
authors.forename: W-J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: J-J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Z-Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Q-M
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D039981:Pyroglyphidae / Q000276:immunology; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012882:Skin Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens