A Survey on the Prevalence of Allergic Diseases in Senior High School Students

• Published in: Journal for the Integrated Study of Dietary Habits Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 345 - 352
• Main Authors: Kurokawa, Yumi, Yamamoto, Teruko, Minami, Natuyo, Hirai, Kazuko, Takezoe, Reiko, Horiuchi, Rie, Higuchi, Hisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: THE JAPAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE INTEGRATED STUDY OF DIETARY HABITS 2001
• ISSN: 1346-9770; 1881-2368
• DOI: 10.2740/jisdh.11.345

Senior high school students (177 boys, 284 girls) were asked to answer a questionnaireon the prevalence of allergic diseases. Of the students, 54.7% lived in the city, 19.7% insuburban areas and 25.6% in the countryside. 1) The percent of students with an allergic disease since birth were 49.2% of the boysand 46.5% of the girls. Within one-year, the percent of students with an allergic diseasewas 67.6% of the boys and 67.4% of the girls. The development of an allergic diseasewas “irregular” in 49.1% of the boys and 46.3% of the girls, “seasonal” for 32.1% ofthe boys and 25.3% of the girls and “perennial” in 9.9% of the boys and 15.1% of thegirls. 2) Within one-year, the percentage of allergic rhinifis in the boys was the highest, 38.4%, followed by 16.5% with atopic dermatitis, and 13.5% with conjunctivitis andpollen allergy.For the girls, the percentage of allergic rhinifis was also the highest, 30.3%, followed by atopic dermatitis (18.6%), urticaria (17.1%) and pollen allergy (11.7%). 3) When asked about the cause of their allergic disease, 53.4% answered house dustand ticks, 49.8% pollen, 21.5% food ingredients, 14.6% pets and 11.4% stress. Withrespect to therapy within one-year, 66.7% responded “no treatment”, 37.9% “visit-ed a doctor”, and 24.7% “used medicine” . 4) Of those with allergic diseases since birth, a higher intake of sweets and snacks wasreported by the boys and of eggs and meat by the girls when compared with thosewithout allergies. 5) Of the boys with allergic diseases since birth, defecation was reported at less thanthree times per week (8.1%) and was irregular (15.1%), which tended to be higher thanthose of the non-allergic boys (1.1% and 6.8%, respectively). Boys (67.9%) with aller-gic diseases since birth answered that they thought constipation could affect their healthwith less frequency than the non-allergic boys (85.4%).