Type of Fuel Consumed and Frequency of Lorry Passing Associated with Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Symptoms in Children

Allergic diseases are prevalent in children and their prevalence and severity are different in dissimilar areas of the world. Many studies have been carried out regarding the inspection of the causative environmental factors such as air, foods and environmental allergens. In this study, using the ISAAC standardized method, the relation between asthma and allergic rhinitis symptoms with the kind of fuel consumed at homes and the frequency of lorry passing through the streets next to the houses in 3000 children aged 6-7 years and 3000 children 13-14 years was investigated. The results indicated that in the children aged 6-7 years, the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis had a meaningful relation with the type of fuel consumed at homes (P<0.05), so that the less pollutant fuel resulted in less symptoms. The evidence suggested that in both age group, when there was lorry passing all day long, there were more wheezing and allergic rhinitis symptoms, and the difference was meaningful regarding allergic rhinitis (P< 0.05). The study reveals that indoor and outdoor air pollution is associated with increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases in children. Therefore, it seems that these types of air pollution can be a cause of increase of the allergic cases in childhood.