This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of asthma, eczema, and allergic rhinitis in school children in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, and in so doing to determine the differences in symptom prevalence rates of asthma, and atopic diseases in Kota Bharu school children between 1995 and 2001.
Whilst many recent reports have suggested a rise in the prevalence of asthma and allergic disease in Western countries, little is known about the epidemiology of these common conditions in south-east Asia. This study compared the prevalence of asthma and allergic disease amongst secondary school students in three south-east Asian populations--Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, and San Bu in China--and investigated the associations with atopy and family history.
Although it has been observed that nasal allergy is rarely seen in patients who have nasopharyngeal carcinoma, to our knowledge, no actual study of such a lack of association has been previously reported. To fill this void, we conducted a pilot study to investigate any such inverse relationship. We conducted skin-prick allergen tests on 22 patients with newly diagnosed but not-yet-treated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Combining these test results with findings on the history and clinical examination, we concluded that only one of the 22 cancer patients (4.5%) had allergic rhinitis. Our study also confirmed the validity of using findings on the history, clinical examination, and skin-prick testing as a reliable means of diagnosing allergic rhinitis.
The Allergies in Asia-Pacific Survey describes the symptoms, impact, and treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR) across Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The Allergies in Asia-Pacific Survey was undertaken to further clarify the prevalence of physician-diagnosed nasal allergies (NAs), impact on quality-of-life (QOL), existing treatment paradigms and gaps, and NA medications currently used in treatment.