Patterns of childhood food- and aero-allergies studied

Monday, 09 August 2010 13:41

Researchers in the Netherlands have examined differences between children sensitized to zero, one, or more allergens in a retrospective analysis of allergy test results for children between 1990 and 2003.

The study population was aged between 0-18 years. Polysensitization (sensitisation to five or more allergens) was found to be most common in children 4-11 years of age, and more common in boys than in girls. Out of the total of 9044 children tested, sixty percent were not sensitized to any of the aeroallergens or food allergens tested. Of the forty percent who had one or more positive specific IgE tests, around thirty percent were monosensitized, forty-seven percent were sensitized to two to four allergens, and nearly twenty-two percent were polysensitized. Among those with food allergy, sensitisation to cow’s milk was most common.

Results showed distinct patterns of cosensitization between biologically unrelated allergens, leading the authors to suggest that polysensitization is the expression of a distinct atopic phenotype, and not of biologic cross-reactivity to similar allergens.

Reference: de Jong et al. 2010. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. DOI 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2010.00993.x