[Survey of allergic diseases in 3-year old children in Okinawa City].

ABSTRACT

A questionnaire survey was conducted between September 1993 and March 1994 to ascertain the presence of allergic diseases among 3-year old children in Okinawa City of Okinawa Prefecture. Nine hundred and twenty-two questionnaires were sent to caretakers of 3-year old children, with 697 responses of which five invalid cases were deleted for a total of 692 responses which were analyzed. About 30% of these children had allergic diseases as diagnosed by the medical doctor. Among the respondents 15.1% had experience of atopic dermatitis, while 13.9% had experience of asthma. The incidence of atopic dermatitis in this survey was lower than those reported in other prefectures of Japan. Symptoms for atopic dermatitis were more severe during summer. About 15% of the children had been on a diet regimen for prevention or treatment of allergic diseases since the time of conception. Eighteen percent of the respondents used a vacuum cleaner on their bedding. A high proportion of respondents (65.9%) obtained information from newspapers or magazines about allergic diseases.