[Questionnaire to examine the prevalence of allergy symptoms and consumer measures by prefecture]

To ascertain the prevalence of allergy symptoms and consumer measures for eye, nose, skin, food, and asthma by prefecture. The self-evaluation questionnaire was mailed to 100,000 subjects throughout Japan by the OTC distribution network of Fujiyakuhin Co., Ltd. The prevalence of allergy symptoms for eye, nose, skin, food, and asthma was 17.3, 26.7, 14.5, 4.5, and 5.4%, respectively. These values were comparable with those of previous studies. The ratio of consultation behavior in respondents reporting allergy symptoms was estimated to be 26.4-82.1%. The usage rate of OTC drugs in respondents reporting non-consultation and the rate of combined use of prescription and OTC drugs were 2.9-51.1% and 7.0-44.1%, respectively. The positive likelihood ratio for subjective allergy in persons having an allergy history of "both parent and child" was 13.9, and this ratio for subjective child allergy in persons having an allergy history of "either parents" and "both parents" was 4.39 and 15.7. The relationship between consumer measures and the allergy history of subjects and families was observed in various combinations. In this study, the allergy prevalence of eye and food not reported in a previous study was estimated. Furthermore, it appears that there are points which make one think anew about the allergy information offered to consumers and patients by both OTC manufacturers/distributors and pharmacists.