Prevalence of asthma and rhinitis in a Tunisian population.

BACKGROUND: Asthma and rhinitis are a major public health problem because of their frequency, their impact on quality of life and economic burden. In Tunisia, epidemiological data are scarce. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of asthma and rhinitis in a representative Tunisian population and to analyze the association between them.

METHODS: It was a cross-sectional population-based study, involving individuals aged between 2 and 52 years, living in Tunis. A sample of the general population was generated using a random stratified sampling method. A detailed face-to-face questionnaire based on ISAAC and the ECRHS survey was used. Classification of rhinitis was evaluated according to ARIA.

RESULTS: Data were obtained from 4470 responders (40.2% male and 59.8% female). The response rate was 96.5%. The prevalence of current asthma was 6.5% (CI 5.9%-7.8%). A slight female predominance was observed in children and adolescents but in adulthood gender-specific prevalence estimates were similar. The prevalence of rhinitis in the general population was 11.7% (CI 10.1%-13.5%) in children and 13.4% (CI 11.1%-14.6%) in 15 years and older. No statistically significant differences were found according to gender and age. Almost half of asthmatics' had current rhinitis or rhinoconjunctivitis versus 13.4% in the population sample (P < 0.001). Current asthma was reported in 22.5% subjects with current rhinitis or with rhinoconjunctivitis.

CONCLUSIONS: Asthma and rhinitis represent a considerable public health problem in children and adults up to age 52 in Tunisian population. Our results confirm also the strong association between them. These findings highlight the need for a clinical global assessment of asthma together with rhinitis.