Air Pollution and Prevalence of Allergic Diseases in Georgian Adolescent Population

摘要

During the last few decades, scientists have devoted special attention to environmental pollution and outdoor allergens (e.g., SO2, NO2, phenol, combustion gases, etc.) and their increasing role in the etiology of allergic diseases. Children and adolescents are the subsets of the population that are most sensitive to the influence of environmental pollution. In this paper, the relationship between the frequency of allergic diseases in the young and air pollution intensity was studied in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. The study was conducted to obtain more information on the causes of the high morbidity in military personnel in the Georgian Armed Forces, particularly the high incidence of allergic diseases like bronchial asthma. Data were obtained from the National Environmental Monitoring Center, which had collected air samples from seven air pollution observation zones in seven districts of Tbilisi. The prevalence and structure of allergic diseases (e.g., bronchial asthma, polynosis, atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria, and Quincke's edema) were investigated in a representative group of Tbilisi adolescents (11,073 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years) according to specially developed methods, including a screening questionnaire, a detailed map of epidemiological- biological data, and unitary diagnostic criteria of allergic diseases in children. Data analysis revealed a significant relationship between the increasing prevalence of allergic diseases in children and chemical air pollution intensity (p).