Epidemiology of Ocular Allergy Among School Children in Trinidad and Tobago.
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Date
2023
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Publisher
Faculty of Medical Sciences, The UWI, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago.
Abstract
Aim: To determine the epidemiology of ocular allergy(OA) in secondary school children in Trinidad and Tobago
Method: A descriptive cross-sectional school-based study was done using the ISAAC questionnaire to assess the epidemiology of OA. A spinner wheel website was used to select schools to be included. Information on demography, presence of ocular allergy symptoms, associated risk factors, and impact of ocular allergy were obtained. The data collected was exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and the correlation between variables was examined with the use of Pearson Chi-square test using a p-value of <0.05 as the threshold for statistical significance.
Results- A total of 420 students comprising of 198 males (47.1%) and 222 females (52.9%) aged 11–18 years participate in the study. The prevalence of OA was 49.3% (207 children) and SAC was the most prevalent (90.3%) type of OA found. The prevalence of OA was higher among 14 years age group (23.4%) and females (58.8%). Difficulty breathing, wheezing, asthma, food, rhinitis, atopic eczema, and mites were associated with OA.
Conclusion- The prevalence of OA among secondary school students in Trinidad was relatively high (49.3%) as compared to various studies conducted across the globe.