Allergy and related clinical symptoms among medical students and interns

Allergy among Medical students and Interns

  • Nahla Khamis Ibrahim Community Medicine Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia & Epidemiology Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt.
  • Abeer Ali Alghamdi
  • Mayar Majed Almehmadi
  • Asma'a Abdulwahed Alzahrani
  • Asraa Khairallah Turkistani
  • Khalid Alghamdi
Keywords: Allergy, Clinical presentations, Predictors, Prevalence, Triggers

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence, types, clinical presentations, triggers, and predictors of allergic disorders among medical students and interns at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used for this study in which 600 medical students and interns were selected by a multistage stratified random sampling. A validated, confidential, selfadministered questionnaire was used during 2016 / 2017. It asked about the previous diagnosis of allergic disorders, associated factors, types, clinical symptoms and the triggering allergenic. Descriptive & inferential statistics were done and logistic regression analysis was conducted.

Results: The overall prevalence of diagnosed allergic disorder(s) among the participants was 36.2%.The commonest types of allergy were skin (33.8%) followed by respiratory (29.5%) presentations. The most frequently reported allergenic triggers were the house dust (45.6%) and smoke (30.4%). The first allergy predictor was family history of allergic disorders (aOR= 4.35, 95 % CI: 2.96-6.39), followed by female gender. Regarding the outcome of allergy on students’ life, 16.1% occasionally missed classes, and 28.6% had sleep disturbance during allergic attacks.

Conclusion: Allergy represents an important problem among medical students and interns. Family history and female gender were the predictors of allergy. Skin and respiratory allergies were the most common types. House dust and smoke were the commonest allergenic triggers. Detection of allergens and management of cases of allergy among medical students and interns are needed. Education and conduction of awareness campaigns about allergy are needed.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.4.1281

How to cite this:
Ibrahim NK, Alghamdi AA, Almehmadi MM, Alzahrani AA, Turkistani AK, Alghamdi K. Allergy and related clinical symptoms among medical students and interns. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(4):1060-1065. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.4.1281

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published
2019-07-09
How to Cite
Ibrahim, N. K., Alghamdi, A. A., Almehmadi, M. M., Alzahrani, A. A., Turkistani, A. K., & Alghamdi, K. (2019). Allergy and related clinical symptoms among medical students and interns: Allergy among Medical students and Interns. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 35(4). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.4.1281
Section
Original Articles