[Epidemiology of allergic rhinitis in children residing in the city of Tomsk and rural areas of the Tomsk region].

The present paper is designed to report results of a clinico-epidemiological study that had the objective to elucidate the prevalence of allergic rhinitis among 8,311 first- and eighth-grade schoolchildren from the city of Tomsk and rural areas of the Tomsk region. The investigation was undertaken in the framework of the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC). It has demonstrated that clinical symptoms of allergic rhinitis (AR) in the region of interest occurred in 36.7% of the children including 35.6% and 38.9% of those attending urban and rural schools respectively. Positive skin test response to the selected panel of allergens was documented in 45.41% and 16.09% of the children in these groups. They most frequently reacted to the cat's hair, birch tree pollen, and a mixture of tick allergens and domestic dust. Only urban community-dwelling children proved sensitized to cockroach (15.62%), wormwood (6%), saltbush (8%), and ragweed (10.93%) allergens. It may be hypothesized that epidemiological characteristics of allergic rhinitis are generated not only under the influence of the urban environment but also depend on other endemic ecological factors.