Heredity of asthma in Saudi population

Bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: research activity in Arab countries

BACKGROUND

Chronic respiratory diseases, like bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are a worldwide health problem. Quantitative and qualitative assessment of asthma and COPD-related research from Arab countries has not been explored and there are few internationally published reports on such field. The main objectives of this study were to analyze research output originating from Arab countries in the field of bronchial asthma and COPD.

METHODS

Original scientific articles or reviews published from the 22 Arab countries were screened using specific words pertaining to asthma and COPD using Scopus database and search engine. Research productivity was evaluated based on: (a) total and trends of contribution of each Arab country to asthma and COPD research and (b) journals in which researchers from Arab countries published their research.

RESULTS

The total number of original research and review articles published globally about bronchial asthma and COPD was 163,964. The leading country in bronchial asthma and COPD research was United States of America (38,632; 23.56%). Worldwide, Turkey ranked 19th while Israel and Iran ranked 25th and 29th respectively. Among Arab countries, Egypt and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came on positions 39th and 43rd, respectively. A total of 1,304 documents about bronchial asthma and COPD were published from Arab countries which represents 0.8% of the global research output. Research in bronchial asthma was almost double that in COPD. Research from Arab countries was low and showed a significant increase after 2000. Approximately 12% of research activity in asthma and COPD from Arab countries was published in Saudi Medical Journal, Annals of Saudi Medicine, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal and Tunisie Medicale. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a total publication of 353 (27.07%) ranked first among the Arab countries while University of Kuwait was the most productive institution with a total of 123 (9.43%) documents.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data showed relatively low research productivity about bronchial asthma and COPD in Arab countries. Research output can be improved by investing more in international and national collaborative research projects in the field of asthma and COPD.

Pilot testing of a pharmacist led care program for asthma patients in Saudi Arabia

This study aimed at evaluating the usefulness of a structured patient counseling program on clinical outcomes of asthma patients in Saudi Arabia. This cross sectional study enrolled 10 asthma patients and all were evaluated for their baseline knowledge on asthma, quality of life, compliance, patient satisfaction and drug related problems among randomly selected 5 (of the total 10) patients. The median (IQR) age of the patients was 46 (33.5–56.2) years. The baseline knowledge scores was 9 (8–11), the maximum possible scores to be 21. Cronbach alpha of the KQ was 0.65. The overall total median (IQR) compliance (Morisky) score was 4 (3–5), the maximum possible score was 5. The patient satisfaction median (IQR) score was 35.5 (32–46.25), the maximum possible score was 70. Of the total patients 3 (30%) had a history of allergy. There were total 18 allergens observed in these patients. There has been no drug–drug or drug–food interactions observed between among the prescribed drugs of the patients. Altogether 2 patients reported a total of 2 ADRs. The knowledge of the asthma patients was found to be poor. Missing the dose was the most commonly encountered drug taking behavior. The compliance was found to be good and the patient satisfaction was average.

[Association between atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and asthma in schoolchildren aged 13-14 years old]

BACKGROUND

Atopic dermatitis is closely related to other atopic diseases, especially asthma and allergic rhinitis. Although there is a certain agreement that suffering from atopic eczema predisposes to asthma and allergic rhinitis, the risk of developing these diseases should be quantified in populations following a standardized method, which is the objective of this study.

METHOD

Using the questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC), we performed a cross-sectional study of all schoolchildren aged 13 and 14 years old in the city of Cartagena (Murcia, Spain). The relationship between atopic dermatitis and its severity with asthma, allergic asthma, and allergic rhinitis was analyzed.

RESULTS

Quantification of risk showed that schoolchildren with atopic eczema had a 3-fold risk of allergic rhinitis (OR: 3.33; 95 % CI: 2.45-4.54), a 4-fold risk of asthma (OR: 3.85; 95 % CI: 2.74-5.42) and a 5-fold risk of allergic asthma (OR: 4.91; 95 % CI: 3.17-7.59) compared with schoolchildren without atopic eczema. The severity of eczema was also directly related to that of asthma and rhinitis.

Pet ownership in the UAE: its effect on allergy and respiratory symptoms

The aim of this paper was to study the effect of pets and other domestic animals on bronchial asthma among United Arab Emirates (UAE) schoolchildren aged 6-14 years. A cross-sectional study of 850 schoolchildren living in both urban and rural areas (average age 9.36 +/- 2.11 years, 46.8% boys and 53.2% girls) was conducted using self-administered questionnaires between October 1992 and May 1993. Prevalence rate for asthma, rhinitis, wheeze, cough, and eczema in children from families with and without animals were investigated. A total of 40.7% of families studied were found to keep animals in their homes. Children from families with animals were found to have a significantly higher prevalence rate of respiratory symptoms than those without. The prevalence rate for asthma in children with animals was found to be twice that of children without (RR: 2.03; 95% CI: 1.40-2.95). The risk of having chronic cough (RR: 1.93; 95% CI: 1.21-3.10), breathlessness/chest tightness (RR: 2.53; 95% CI: 1.59-4.02), chronic wheeze (RR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.20-3.67), allergic rhinitis (RR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.17-2.00) was significantly higher in children with animals than in children without. Similarly, the risk of having eczema (RR: 2.55; 95%, CI: 1.74-3.75) was significantly higher among children with animals than among those without. Overall, there was a highly statistically significant difference in the prevalence of asthma, wheeze, nocturnal cough, eczema, and rhinitis between children in families with animals and those without (p < 0.0001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Association of allergic symptoms in children with those in their parents

This study investigated the association of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema in United Arab Emirates (UAE) schoolchildren with allergic conditions in their parents. A cross-sectional, population-based study among schoolchildren aged 6-14 years was conducted in Al-Ain City, UAE. The field survey was conducted from October 1992 to May 1993. A questionnaire was distributed to 850 UAE government school students from representative, randomly selected schools with a majority of UAE nationals. The student and both or either of the parents were present during the interview. A detailed clinical history of asthma and wheezing in the target children and a history of asthma and allergic rhinitis in their parents and siblings were obtained. It was found that 13.1% of asthmatic children had mothers with asthma (relative risk (RR) = 2.67; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.65-4.35), and 15.2% had fathers who were asthmatic (RR = 2.85; 95% CI = 1.81-4.49). This contrasted with 4.4% of nonasthmatic children who had fathers with asthma, and 4.1% who had mothers with asthma. A similar pattern was seen with symptoms of allergic rhinitis when it was found that 34.3% of children who had asthma had mothers with allergic rhinitis (RR: 2.74; 95% CI: 1.90-3.94). The corresponding figure for fathers was 12.7% (RR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.5-1.7). The frequency of either parent of the asthmatic children having allergic rhinitis was 28.6%; for both parents, it was 14.5%. It was also found that asthmatic children had 12.5% of their fathers, 32.8% of their mothers, 26.4% of either of their parents, and 33.3% of both their parents suffering from allergic rhinitis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)