title: Impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on atopic eczema and allergic rhinitis: a cross sectional study.
abstract: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis and atopic eczema is on the rise in recent decades. Many factors can be related to the development of these diseases. We aimed to investigate the association between socioeconomic status (SES), environmental risk factors and these conditions. In this study, the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was translated and validated. Then it was used to determine the prevalence, severity and possible related factors for both diseases in 1904 schoolchildren aged 6-7 and 13-14 years from various regions of Tehran. The prevalence of rhinitis and eczema in the past year was 33.2 % and 8.2 %, respectively. The prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis in the past year was 30 %. The risk factors such as birth order, nursery attendance, pet ownership, past allergic experiences as well as some SES factors were associated with both conditions. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis and atopic eczema was on the rise in comparison to the previous studies and SES as well as environmental factors are thought to be associated with the prevalence of these conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Islamic Azad University of Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Tehran, Iran, Postal address: 19395-646.
authors.forename: Yasamin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Torfi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Islamic Azad University of Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Tehran, Iran, Postal address: 19395-646.
authors.forename: Niloofar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bitarafan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Islamic Azad University of Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Tehran, Iran, Postal address: 19395-646.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rajabi
keywords: allergic rhinitis; atopic eczema; prevalence; socioeconomic status