Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine

Title abbreviation: Adv Clin Exp Med
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ISSN 1899–5276 (print)
ISSN 2451-2680 (online)
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Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine

2014, vol. 23, nr 5, September-October, p. 757–762

Publication type: original article

Language: English

The Prevalence of Allergic Diseases in Poland – the Results of the PMSEAD Study in Relation to Gender Differences

Jerzy Liebhart1,A,C,D,F, Rafał Dobek1,C,D, Józef Małolepszy1,A,E, Bogdan Wojtyniak2,A,C,D, Krzysztof Pisiewicz3,A,B, Tadeusz Płusa4,A, Urszula Gładysz5,B,C, The Pmsead Investigators,*,B

1 Department and Clinic of Internal Diseases, Geriatry and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland

2 Department of Medical Statistics, National Institute of Hygiene, Warszawa, Poland

3 National Research Institute for Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases – Rabka Branch, Rabka-Zdrój, Poland

4 Department of Internal Medicine, Pneumonology and Allergology, Military Institute of Medicine, Warszawa, Poland

5

Abstract

Background. Males and females exhibit different susceptibility to allergic diseases.
Objectives. The aim of the study was to evaluate gender-related differences in the prevalence of allergic diseases in Poland.
Material and Methods. To evaluate this problem, data from the Polish Multicenter Study of the Epidemiology of Allergic Diseases (PMSEAD) was analyzed. There were assessed 16,238 individuals, aged 3 to 80 years, among them 12,970 adults and 3,268 children.
Results. In adults the prevalence of asthma was 5.4%, seasonal allergic rhinitis 8.5%, persistent allergic rhinitis 3.0%, atopic dermatitis 1.6%, contact dermatitis 2.0%, and drug allergy 8.6%. In children asthma was diagnosed in 8.6% of the individuals assessed, seasonal allergic rhinitis in 8.6%, persistent allergic rhinitis in 2.1%, atopic dermatitis in 4.7%, contact dermatitis in 1.1% and drug allergy in 8.9%. Among the children in the sample, significantly higher prevalence rates were found in boys than in girls for asthma (10.9% vs. 6.3%; OR = 1.81; p < 0.001), seasonal allergic rhinitis (9.8% vs 7.4%; OR = 1.37, p = 0.018) and persistent allergic rhinitis (2.6% vs. 1.5%; OR = 1.74, p = 0.029). When comparing the differences by gender among adults, there was a lower proportion of male than female subjects suffering from asthma (4.9% vs. 5.8%; OR = 0.83, p = 0.018), seasonal allergic rhinitis (7.6% vs. 9.3%; OR = 0.81, p = 0.001), atopic dermatitis (1.1% vs. 2.0%; OR = 0.53, p < 0.001), contact dermatitis (1.1% vs. 2.8%; OR = 0.39; p < 0.001) and drug allergy (5.1% vs. 11.6%; OR = 0.41, p < 0.001).
Conclusion. The opposite susceptibility to allergic diseases among children and adults may indicate that sex hormones play an important role in this phenomenon.

Key words

allergic diseases, prevalence, gender differences.

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