@article{Drews_Lama_Nepal_Joshi_Gran_Schreiber_2022, title={Allergic sensitization and obstructive airway diseases among an adult rural population in Nepal}, volume={1}, url={https://nepjol.info/index.php/nrj/article/view/45232}, DOI={10.3126/nrj.v1i1.45232}, abstractNote={<p><strong>Background:</strong> The relevance of the obstructive lung diseases asthma and COPD and IgE-mediated allergy in Nepal is still poorly characterized.</p> <p><strong>Method:</strong> In a cross-sectional study in rural Nepal 199 persons were characterized with a questionnaire, skin prick tests, spirometry and total IgE concentration in serum.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> About 20% of the women and 50% of the men were current smokers. Half of the study population used biomass fuel at home to cook or to heat and 70% of the study participants experienced dust-exposure at work or at home. 50% of the women and 30% of the men had a history of COPD, while 57% of the women and 53% of the men had symptoms of respiratory allergy. 18% of the women and 16% of the men used inhaler devices. 62% of the women and 66% of the men had a total IgE concentration in serum >100 IU/mL. About 30% of the women had a FEV<sub>1</sub> < 80% and about 10 % had a FEV<sub>1</sub> < 40%, also 30% of the men had a FEV<sub>1</sub> <80% but none of the men had a FEV<sub>1</sub> <40%. The FEV<sub>1</sub>/VC ratio was smaller than 70% in 13 % of the women and 14,6% of the men. We observed a significant inverse correlation between serum IgE with FEV<sub>1</sub>. 14% of study participants had positive prick test for house dust mite, 5% were positive for cat dander and 3% were positive for mugwort.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> In summary this study shows an relevant burden of obstructive pulmonary disorders and IgE-mediated allergy in a rural Nepalese population.</p>}, number={1}, journal={Nepalese Respiratory Journal}, author={Drews, Arne and Lama, Poonam and Nepal, Niraj and Joshi, Rajesh Dhoj and Gran, Anja and Schreiber, Jens}, year={2022}, month={May}, pages={5–10} }