Abstract
Rationale: Factors affecting asthma course are not clearly elucidated in rural communities in developing countries. Furthermore, the interaction between factors such as atopy, environmental exposure, and urbanization and helminthic infections in modulating asthma have not been well investigated.
Objectives: To determine factors which affect asthma in adults being evaluated at 2 rural health centers in Southwest, Nigeria.
Methods: A random sample of 31 (10M, 21F) consecutive patients with stable physician diagnosed asthma, and 29 (13M, 16F) age matched control subjects without asthma seen at the outpatient clinics in Eruwa and Igbo-Ora were enrolled into the study. All subjects completed an asthma questionnaire, underwent evaluation, which included blood tests for eosinophil, serum IgE, allergy skin test to 8 common environmental allergens, stool for ova and parasites and spirometry. Wilcoxon sign-rank tests were used to compare eosinophil counts, percentage eosinophil and allergy skin test between the groups.
Results: Asthmatics had significantly more positive skin reaction to house dust mite, cockroach, mould, and mouse epithelium than controls (P<0.05).
Total serum IgE was also significantly higher in asthmatics than in controls (mean 380 vs.194 IU/ml; P<0.001). Stool parasitism was similar in both groups. There was correlation between serum IgE and skin test reactivity but not between stool parasitism and skin test reactivity.
Conclusion: Atopy is an important factor in the expression of adult asthma in 2 rural communities of a developing country such as Nigeria where atopy is expected to be uncommon. Additional studies to evaluate rural urban dichotomy in the expression of asthma are needed.
- © 2011 ERS
