Allergic rhinitis among teachers in seven educational centers in Mukalla city, Hadhramout, Yemen

ABSTRACT

To investigate the prevalence of allergic rhinitis among government secondary school teachers in seven educational centers in Mukalla city, Yemen. A descriptive cross-sectional randomized study conducted among secondary school teachers in Mukalla city in Yemen in the period between September 2008 and September 2011. The secondary school teachers who participated in this study, received and filled a well-designed self-administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed using a statistical software SPSS version 16. And a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis among was 18.3% while among females it was 13.4%. The most common symptom of allergic rhinitis was sneezing 82 [89.1%], the less common symptoms were snoring 15 [16.3%] and wheezing, stridor or any breathing sound 13 [14.1%]. The most common causative agents of allergic rhinitis were the use of chalk and carpets. The less common causes of allergic rhinitis were foods and contact with animals. Positive family history of nasal allergy was statistically significant, Allergic conjunctivitis as an associated condition with allergic rhinitis showed statistically significant differences between males and females p-value>0.05. Our study showed that allergic rhinitis is more common in males than females among secondary school teachers in Mukalla city, higher incidence of allergic rhinitis in males because of lack of preventive measures against the causative agents like dust, weather changes, smoke and others. The majority of females have reduced exposure to these factors by staying indoors and use of Hijab.