Assessing allergic rhinitis in developing countries.
BACKGROUND
Allergic rhinitis (AR) affects 5% to 40% of the general population. In developing countries, AR is poorly documented and tracked due to a lack of appropriate diagnostic tools.


OBJECTIVE
1) To validate a questionnaire standardised in industrialised countries to ascertain AR, the Score For Allergic Rhinitis (SFAR), in developing countries; 2) to better understand AR prevalence previously reported from developing countries by comparing results from the SFAR and the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires.


METHODS
Six African countries were selected for their climates. In each country, 70 individuals with and 30 without nasal symptoms filled out the SFAR and the ISAAC questionnaires. Skin prick tests (SPTs) for allergens were performed by the physician if necessary.


RESULTS
The SFAR presented a close match with the gold standard (the physician's diagnosis of AR backed up by SPT where necessary) in terms of various performance parameters. In particular, it showed high sensitivity (0.84) and specificity (0.81). Compared to the ISAAC questionnaire, the SFAR had greater sensitivity and equal specificity.


CONCLUSIONS
In the absence of a medical visit, the SFAR is a useful standardised screening instrument for the collection of information needed for the identification of AR in developing countries.
Piau
J P
JP
Epidémiologie des Maladies Allergiques et Respiratoires (EPAR), Unité Mixte de Recherche en Santé (UMR-S) 707, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, France.
Massot
C
C
Moreau
D
D
Aït-Khaled
N
N
Bouayad
Z
Z
Mohammad
Y
Y
Khaldi
F
F
Bah-Sow
O
O
Camara
L
L
Koffi
N B
NB
M'boussa
J
J
El Sony
A
A
Moussa
O A
OA
Bousquet
J
J
Annesi-Maesano
I
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007428:Intradermal Tests; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult