Background: The Global Asthma Network (GAN), by using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) methodology, has updated trends in prevalence of symptoms of childhood allergic diseases, including non-infective rhinitis and conjunctivitis ('rhinoconjunctivitis'), which is reported here.
Methods: Prevalence and severity of rhinoconjunctivitis were assessed by questionnaire among schoolchildren in GAN Phase I and ISAAC Phase I and III surveys 15-23 years apart. Absolute rates of change in prevalence were estimated for each centre and modelled by multi-level linear regression to compare trends by age group, time period and per capita national income.
Objective: To determine the prevalence of allergic symptoms in children with otitis media with effusion (OME).
Study Design: A validated questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood was used to determine the prevalence of allergic symptoms in children. The questionnaire was completed by the parents of children with OME undergoing ventilation tube insertion, and the results were compared with a large reference group of school children of the same age.