Prevalence of Sensitization to Aeroallergens in Greater Beijing Region Children With Respiratory Allergy

Kai Guan; Wenjing Zhu; Li Sha; Chuanhe Liu; Jing Zhao; Jia Yin; Yuzhi Chen

doi:10.3389/fped.2022.848357

Prevalence of Sensitization to Aeroallergens in Greater Beijing Region Children With Respiratory Allergy

Front Pediatr. 2022 May 19:10:848357. doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.848357. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Kai Guan^{1

2

3}, Wenjing Zhu⁴, Li Sha⁴, Chuanhe Liu⁴, Jing Zhao⁴, Jia Yin^{1

2

3}, Yuzhi Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Allergy, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Peking Union Medical College, Beijing Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine for Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergic Disease, Beijing, China.
³ National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases (NCRC-DID), Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of Allergy, Children's Hospital of Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and distribution of sensitization to aeroallergens in children with atopic diseases.

Methods: We conducted skin prick test on 9,527 pediatric patients (aged 0-17 years) with atopic diseases in allergy department of Children's Hospital affiliated with the Capital Institute of Pediatrics. Positive rates of aeroallergens were compared among the different groups.

Results: Boys (69.5%) had a higher positive rate in SPT results than girls (59.8%; χ² = 91.7, P < 0.01), and the prevalence of sensitization to aeroallergens increased from 56.1% in the 0-5 year group, to 73.0% in patients above 12 years. Japanese hop (36.2%) and D. farinae (28.1%) were the most common outdoor and indoor aeroallergens, respectively. From low to high age groups, the positive detection rates of D. farinae were 20.3, 30.6, and 33.5%, respectively, followed by D. pteronyssinus (15.7, 24.8, and 30.0%) and cat dander (8.6, 19.8, and 27.9%, respectively), while dog dander and cockroach showed the same trend. The top three positive detection rates of outdoor aeroallergens were Alternaria (30.9%), Japanese Hop (26.7%), and Artemisia (23.7%) in the preschool age group. With regard to patients aged 6 to 11 years, the three most common were Japanese hop (39.2%), Alternaria (36.4%), and Fraxinus pollen (34.4%). Japanese hop (43.8%), Sabina (41.1%), and birch pollen (39.6%) became increasingly common allergens among adolescents. There were more patients with strongly positive reactions to Alternaria in AS (χ² = 10.2, P < 0.01) and AS with AR groups (χ² =9.7, P < 0.01) than those in the AR group. Asthmatic patients had significantly higher multiple positive reactions than those with AR (P < 0.01). Asthmatic patients had a much higher prevalence of HDM, animal dander, and Alternaria than those with allergic rhinitis (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The prevalence of sensitization to aeroallergens increased with age in children with atopic diseases in Greater Beijing Region. Alternaria was the predominant allergen before 5 years of age, and tree pollen had delayed sensitization in adolescents. Sensitization to perennial allergens such as HDM, cats, and Alternaria was more strongly associated with asthma risk. Sensitization to more than one allergen significantly affected asthmatic patients.

Keywords: aeroallergens; atopy; children; respiratory allergy; skin prick test.