Factors Affecting the Prevalence of House Dust Mite in Tekirdağ and İstanbul Provinces in Comparison with House Dust Mite Population of Sivas Province During the Same Period

Objective: This study aimed to examine the frequency of house dust mite according to various variables and determine the house dust mite population in these provinces in house dust samples collected in the same period from İstanbul and Tekirdağ provinces, which is located on the coastal part of the Marmara Region, and Sivas province, which has different climatic and geographic characteristics from these provinces. A comparison was done from each province.
Methods: Between May and August 2018, a total of 100 powder samples were prepared by a lactic acid precipitation method that was examined microscopically. Besides, some variables in Tekirdağ and İstanbul provinces were applied to participants by face-to-face interview method from a questionnaire.
Results: House dust mite was found with a rate of 66.7% in İstanbul and 61.5% in Tekirdağ; however, house dust mite was not found in Sivas province. According to survey results, the frequency of house dust mite detection is 1-4. It increased according to the fact that it is located between floors, cleaning was every 15 days, no smoking at home and insufficient sun exposure. No statistically significant difference was found according to the presence of plants and/or animals in the house and way of heating.
Conclusion: Measures to be taken against house a dust mite, which is the most essential component of house dust with allergic content, are observed to be important in reducing complaints of sensitive people by especially considering the climate, geographic characteristics and general hygienic conditions. According to investigations, Baloghella melis , one of the mites detected in dust samples taken from İstanbul, has been determined to be a new record in Turkey. This study will contribute to Turkey with this aspect fauna of house dust mites.