Epidemiological studies show an increasing prevalence of chronic rhinitis in different countries.
OBJECTIVE
To study the influence of natural and climatic conditions of the Republic of Dagestan (RD) on the prevalence of chronic rhinitis.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The RD territory was regionalized into 4 zones taking into account climatic and geographic characteristics: plain (up to 500 m), piedmont (500—1000 m), intermontane (1500—2500 m) and high-mountain (above 2500 m). The RD cities were divided into 2 groups: seaside (located near the coast of the sea) and non-coastal (located at a distance of more than 50 km from the sea). A number of cases equal 220.655 of rhinitis registered for the first time, from the database of the territorial FFMCI of RD for 2014—2018 yrs. were analyzed in the study. The data were compared using the χ2 criterion, analysis of variance and Kruskall-Wallis test. Associations between risk factors (age, sex, and place of residence) and rhinitis morbidity were assessed using order logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS
The incidence of rhinitis in rural areas (1587.7±310.1 per 100.000 population) was higher than in urban areas (1226.7±176.0; p=0.03); in high-mountain conditions — 4.1 times higher (2808.5±557.8 per 100.000) compared to intermontane region (p=0.0001); in non-coastal cities (2027.3±535.2 per 100.000 population) was significantly higher than in the seaside ones (980.3±91.6; p=0.003; p=0.003). All rhinitis phenotypes were significantly more often more detected in childhood (0—14 years) than in older age groups.
CONCLUSION
Female sex, childhood age, high-mountain and non-coastal cities have been identified in this study as potential risk factors for the rhinitis development.