Allergi - en påminnelse om vårt ursprung : en kvantitativ enkätundersökning över förekomsten avallergier bland studenterna på Gymnastik & idrottshögskolan i Stockholm

Sammanfattning: Aim - To investigate the prevalence of allergies among students at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH) in Stockholm and relate it to factors that previous research in this area found to influence the risk of developing allergic diseases. - Can Hygiene Hypothesis or more specifically the relationships of family structure, socioeconomic status and the degree of overcrowding explain the existence of allergies among students at GIH? - Can the prevalence of allergies among students at GIH be explained by any of the known relationship for the prevalence of allergic diseases this study has taken into account? Method - Quantitative survey of students at GIH in the fall of 2013. Results - 214 students from The Swedish School of Sport and Health Science participated in the study, with representation from the first - and last - year students of all educational programs. More than twice the proportion of those diagnosed respondents said that their mother smoked during pregnancy or while they were breast-fed compared with the same group of respondents with no allergic diagnosis. The correlation is not statistically significant (p -value: 0.054). The majority of respondents with an allergic diagnosis indicated that their home mopped once a week or more for most of their childhood, while the majority of respondents with no allergic diagnosis stated that their home mopped less often. The correlation is not statistically significant (p -value: 0.055). Almost twice the proportion of respondents with an allergic diagnosis indicated that they spent most of their childhood in a major city. Similarly, nearly double the proportion of respondents with no allergic diagnosis indicated that they spent most of their childhood in the country (p -value: 0.06). The majority of respondents with an allergic diagnosis had a younger mother at birth in comparison with respondents without any allergic diagnosis. The mean maternal age at birth was 28.3 years for respondents with an allergic diagnosis and 29.9 years for respondents with no diagnosis. Difference in mean age between the two groups is statistically significant (p-value: 0.038). Conclusions - None of the related factors the study took into account, for which earlier studies in the area shown to affect the incidence of allergic diseases could provide a convincing explanation for the prevalence of allergies among students at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences. The resulting trend for the majority of the studied factors are in line with previous research. An elderly mother was found to be significantly associated with a decreased risk of having an allergic diagnosis. The result finds no support in previous research and should be investigated more thoroughly.