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. 2022 Jan 27;15(1):100625.
doi: 10.1016/j.waojou.2022.100625. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Urban vs rural - Prevalence of self-reported allergies in various occupational and regional settings

Linda Tizek  1 , Elisa Redlinger  1 , Johannes Ring  1 , Kilian Eyerich  1   2 , Tilo Biedermann  1 , Alexander Zink  1   2
Affiliations

Urban vs rural - Prevalence of self-reported allergies in various occupational and regional settings

Linda Tizek et al. World Allergy Organ J. .

Abstract

Background: Allergies have an enormous individual and economic impact worldwide and affect more than one quarter of the population in Germany. Various factors influence the development of allergies: besides genetic predisposition the environment in which a person is raised and living also plays a role. The aim of the study was to evaluate differences in allergy prevalence in relation to age, sex, occupation, and living area (settlement structures).

Methods: A cross-sectional study using a paper-based questionnaire about allergies was performed at the Munich Oktoberfest 2016. Participants were divided into 4 occupational groups and compared using descriptive statistics and multiple regression.

Results: Overall, 2701 individuals (mean age 51.9 ± 15.3 years; 53.5% women) participated in the study. The overall rate of any self-reported allergy was 27.3% in the study population, in which women were more likely to be affected than men (OR = 1.82; 95% CI [1.50; 2.22]). Compared to farmers, all other occupational groups had a higher risk of reporting pollen allergies. Participants from rural areas (OR = 0.38; 95% CI [0.26; 0.58]) and suburban areas (OR = 0.44; 95% CI [0.30; 0.64]) were significantly less affected by allergies than participants from urban areas. Around 45.2% of the participants affected by allergies reported not receiving any treatment at all.

Conclusion: Differences in the self-reported prevalence of allergies were shown for age groups, sex, living area, and occupation. Especially the reported pollen allergy prevalence ranged widely between different occupations, indicating that those individuals with an occupational exposure to pollen may have a lower risk than indoor workers. Overall, there remains a high need for sufficient treatment of allergies.

Keywords: AIT, allergen specific immunotherapy; Allergy; CI, confidence interval; ENT, ear nose throat specialist; GP, general practitioner; OR, odds ratio; OTC, over-the-counter; Prevalence; Rural; SD, standard deviation; Treatment; Urban; ZLF, Bavarian Central Agricultural Festival.

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Conflict of interest statement

L. Tizek declares a conflict of interest with Novartis Pharma GmbH and Beiersdorf Dermo Medical GmbH. E. Redlinger: none declared. J. Ring: none declared. Dr. Eyerich reports other from Novartis Pharma GmbH, other from Beiersdorf Dermo Medical GmbH, during the conduct of the study; grants and personal fees from Abbvie, personal fees from Almirall, personal fees from BMS, grants and personal fees from LEO, personal fees from Lilly, grants and personal fees from Janssen, grants and personal fees from UCB, grants and personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, outside the submitted work. T. Biedermann gave advice to or got a honorarium for talks or research grants from the following companies: Alk-Abelló, Celgene-BMS, Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Mylan, Novartis Pharma GmbH, Phadia-Thermo Fisher, Sanofi-Genzyme, and Regeneron. A. Zink has been an advisor and/or received speaker's honoraria and/or received unrestricted research grants and/or participated in clinical trials of the following companies: Abbvie, Amgen, Almirall, Beiersdorf Dermo Medical GmbH, Bencard Allergie, BMS, Celgene, Eli Lilly, GSK, Janssen Cilag, Leo Pharma, Miltenyi BiotecMiltenyi Biotec, Pfizer, Novartis, Phadia Thermofischer GmbH, Sanofi-Aventis, and Takeda Pharma.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Proportion of individuals with self-reported allergy in different areas (n ≥ 15) in Bavaria, Southern Germany. ∗Munich
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proportion of treatment options used by people reported to be affected by an allergy (n = 675). ENT = ear nose throat specialist; GP = General practitioner
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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