A survey of allergic diseases was performed on 1,147 students of Mahidol University using a standardised questionnaire. They were all students in the medical and paramedical schools, and ages ranged form 16 to 34 years. Prevalence of allergic diseases, listed in decreasing frequency was as follows : urticaria 37.3%, allergic rhinitis 21.9%, food allergy 16.6%, drug allergy 11%, stinging insect allergy 7.5% and asthma 4.8%. When compare to the study done in the students of the same university twenty years ago, there was no difference in the prevalence of allergic rhinitis, however asthma prevalence increased by two folds. Urticaria and stinging insect allergy decreased and there was slight increase in food and drug allergies. Study in subjects with allergic rhinitis showed that age at onset before 19 years old and moving to big city significantly increased the risk for developing allergic rhinitis, while other factors i.e. sex, associated allergy, family history of atopy, birth season and pets were not the risk factors.
Asthma ; Bites and Stings ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Insects ; Parturition ; Prevalence ; Rhinitis ; Risk Factors ; Seasons ; Thailand* ; Urticaria ; Young Adult ; Surveys and Questionnaires