Alarming data on the number of people suffering from allergies have been revealed by the research project “Epidemiology of Allergic Diseases in Poland” (ECAP), conducted by the Department of Environmental Hazard Prevention and Allergology at the Medical University of Warsaw. The study covered Poles from nine regions of the country—children, adolescents and adults. Collecting data using a massive 400-question survey took three years. The report was published last year. It proved shocking. Its findings continue to be widely discussed by the medical community.
Prof. Bolesława Samoliński of the Medical University of Warsaw was concerned that more than 40% of those surveyed stated that they suffered from some form of allergy, such as rhinitis or skin lesions. One in four people with allergies required immediate medical intervention. However, for Professor Samoliński, the most surprising information from the ECAP study is that up to 80% of people with asthma are unaware of their condition and do not receive specialist care. Untreated asthma and allergies pose a serious health risk.
Poles do not know they are ill
The reason is that the symptoms of the disease are disregarded—in the case of asthma, the fundamental mistake is to underestimate wheezing. Asthma does not develop on its own; it is essentially a certain stage in the evolution of an allergy, which may appear as early as the first year of life, for example in the form of skin lesions. “In some children, food allergies disappear, but a large proportion develop symptoms of rhinitis several years later. And that is a straightforward path to asthma,” warns Prof. Samoliński. Neglecting the disease leads to serious consequences. Around the age of 50–60, untreated asthma sufferers may develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “The path from seemingly innocent allergies to serious diseases is a short one,” adds Prof. Samoliński.
More allergy sufferers in cities
The ECAP study covered residents of eight large cities and one ecologically clean region (Zamość and Krasnystaw counties). “It turned out that people living in rural areas, on average, suffer from allergic diseases half as often. The scale of the problem is smaller in the eastern part of our country. Thus, we confirmed the thesis known for years that an urban lifestyle promotes allergies,” Prof. Samoliński says in an interview with “Rzeczpospolita”. Researchers observed differences in the prevalence of allergies within individual cities; for example, in Wrocław, one in four children complained of wheezing—a typical symptom of asthma—while in Warsaw it was one in five. Researchers noted a similarly high rate in Lublin, where vehicle exhaust concentrations are high. All such pollution promotes the development of allergies. “The allergens encountered by city residents are somewhat different,” explains Prof. Samoliński. “They contain so-called adjuvants, or factors that increase sensitization. These include exhaust particles, which may coat grass pollen. If such pollen enters a person’s respiratory system, it stimulates the immune system much more strongly,” he adds. An excessive immune-system response (hyperreaction) is a symptom of allergy.
Excessive hygiene promotes allergies
This is another revelation disclosed by the researchers’ report. It turns out that in excessively clean conditions, the human immune system is not sufficiently stimulated to function. For example, a child raised in a sterile home has an immune system that is, as it were, dormant and later is unable to respond properly to substances or pollen entering the body. “This was confirmed by the health results of children from large families, where upbringing generally does not take place under a proverbial glass dome,” explains Prof. Samoliński. Many researchers studying allergies believe that the growing number of allergy sufferers can be explained by the so-called hygiene hypothesis. Its assumptions are explained in the film “Why are more and more people developing allergies?” by medical sciences PhD Zygmunt Nowacki, an allergist from Kraków. In his view, the lack of exposure to external factors causes our immune system to seek a substitute enemy—in other words, a factor that is not normally attacked by the body’s immune defenses.
An epidemic?
Researchers warn that the rate at which allergic diseases are increasing in our country is higher than in other developed European countries. This is because we have only recently opened up to the so-called Western lifestyle, which promotes the development of allergies. Data on the youngest Poles are particularly worrying—almost every second child suffers from upper-respiratory-tract rhinitis, and in recent years the incidence of asthma among children and adolescents has also risen considerably.
Are doctors also to blame?
It turns out that failure to recognize an allergy or asthma is not always due to disregarding the symptoms. Sometimes general practitioners are unable, for various reasons, to diagnose a patient correctly. This is confirmed by a statement from Prof. Maciej Kaczmarski of the Medical Academy in Białystok, published for the “Rynek Zdrowia” portal. Patients who have been treated for other diseases for years regularly come to see the professor. According to Prof. Jerzy Kruszewski, the national consultant for allergology, this is not always due to a lack of medical knowledge. It is also the fault of the Polish healthcare system, which does not give doctors enough time to talk to patients. Moreover, allergology is not funded by the state. Experts from the Polish Society of Allergology warn that the problem is being underestimated. “No government prevention and diagnostic program has ever been created; those in power prefer to focus on fatal diseases,” says Prof. Samoliński. “Meanwhile, untreated allergy can develop into asthma, and asthma into obstructive pulmonary disease, which can be fatal.”
What should be done?
Educational programs explaining the nature of these diseases, their symptoms and treatment methods should help with the recognition of asthma. The first campaign of this kind, entitled “Don’t Let Allergies Get You Down”, was undertaken with the support of the medical community by the video portal for allergy sufferers JaAlergik.pl, which publishes a series of interviews and video materials containing advice and instructions for people at risk of allergies and asthma. As a result, every Internet user can watch advice and guidance provided by doctors, allergists, therapists and specialists in various fields who have extensive experience in preventing and treating allergies and asthma. For example, in one film, “How to Know Whether It Is Already Asthma”, Professor Jerzy Kozielski, MD, PhD, an allergist and pulmonologist from the Department of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis in Zabrze at SUM, clearly and accessibly identifies the symptoms of asthma and describes the course of the disease depending on age and sex.
It is important for Poles to understand what allergies and asthma are and what the consequences of disregarding the symptoms of these diseases may be. Without proper knowledge, people will continue to avoid visiting doctors, thereby worsening their health.
information Anna Włoszek
The series “Everything You Want to Know About Allergies” is published in cooperation with the video portal www.JaAlergik.pl.