CHAGAS, A. C. C. S.; GONÇALVES, D. G.; GONÇALVES, DANILO GOIS; GONCALVES, DANILO GOIS.; RODRIGUES, M. P.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/4488719621403337; http://lattes.cnpq.br/3099396303643606; http://lattes.cnpq.br/2115731912677008; CHAGAS, Ana Cláudia Correia Santos das; GONÇALVES, Danilo Gois.; RODRIGUES, Mirella Patrício.
Resumo:
Asthma and parasitic diseases are of great magnitude worldwide. It has
been observed that allergic disorders are very prevalent while parasitic
diseases are relatively rare in developed countries. The contrary happens in
many developing countries, which has led to the speculation that these facts
could be connected through a single phenomenon, termed the '"hygiene
hypothesis''. As completion of course work, we projected to make an
individuated, observational and cross-sectional study through data collected
from the children aged between 2 to 10 years in Pedregal, a neighborhood in
the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba, in order to assess the association
between asthma and intestinal parasites. The ISAAC (International Study of
Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) questionnaire was performed and stool
samples were examined using the Kato-Katz and the Ritchie techniques. The
sample consisted of 1,195 children, among which 450 (37.7%) were classified
in the asthma group according to the criteria of the ISAAC questionnaire
wheezing module. Despite the high frequency of intestinal parasites
(Entamoeba histolytica, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Giardia
lamblia) and wheezing, this study found no statistically significant associations
between them (0.066 ≤ p ≤ 0.323) using the chi-square test. Thus, it was not
either possible to establish the magnitude of parasites as protection or risk
factors. However, this does not exclude the need to investigate possible links
between asthma and parasites, considering pathogenesis and peculiarities of
the immune response caused by these diseases.