Allergologic profile of diagnosed and undiagnosed pediatric asthma in Batumi, Georgia

Abstract

A population-based survey including 3239 urban children (age: 9.0±2.4 y.) in Batumi, Georgia showed a low prevalence of pediatric asthma (diagnosed asthma: 1.8%) and a follow-up clinical examination of survey participants who had no asthma diagnosis but reported asthmatic symptoms revealed 107 previously unknown cases of asthma (undiagnosed asthma: 3.3%). The goal of the study was to verify hypothesis that diagnosed and undiagnosed asthma differ in terms of coexisting allergic disorders. Questionnaire-derived data were used to compare both groups in terms of allergic symptoms (sneezing/runny nose, watery/itchy eyes, recurrent itchy rash) and allergic diseases diagnosed by physician in the past (hay fever, eczema, allergy). Children with diagnosed asthma as compared with children with undiagnosed asthma had more nasal (54.2% vs. 37.3%, p=0.03) and ocular (40.7% vs. 23.3%), p=0.01) symptoms, had more frequent hay fever (37.2% vs. 11.2%, p