Prevalence Rate of Sensitization to Cat Allergen in Children with Nasal Symptoms in Kunpo city.
- Author:
Yang PARK
1
Author Information
1. Department of Pediatrics, Sanbon Medical Center, College of Medicine, Wonkwang University, Kunpo, Korea. pyallerg@wonkwang.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Cat allergen;
Children;
Indoor allergen;
Nasal symptom;
Prevalence;
Sensitization
- MeSH:
Allergens;
Animals;
Cats;
Child;
Dermatophagoides farinae;
Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus;
Dogs;
Egg White;
Humans;
Milk;
Ownership;
Prevalence;
Radioallergosorbent Test;
Retrospective Studies
- From:Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease
2008;18(4):349-357
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence rate of sensitization to indoor allergens, especially cat allergen in children with nasal symptoms in Kunpo city. METHODS: This study was a retrospective analysis of our radioallergosorbent test (RAST) database. We included 926 children with nasal symptoms between 3 months and 14 years of age. They underwent RAST which included 5 indoor and 4 food allergens. They were grouped according to age (0 to 3 years, 3 to 6 years, 6 to 9 years, 9 to 15 years). We calculated the prevalence rate of that sensitization according to age groups. RESULTS: Among the patients, 50.4% had the sensitization to at least > or =1 allergen of the RAST. The prevalence rate of sensitization increased according to the age group (P<0.05). The most common indoor allergen was Dermatophagoides farinae (D.f.) (22.6%), followed by cat (22.5%) and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D.p.) (17.4%). Especially in the 0 to 3 age group, cat allergen (22.1%), was the predominant allergen, followed by dog (18.1%) and D.f. (8.7%). Among 926 patients, the rate of cat ownership was only 0.43%. The most common food allergen was pork (15.7%), followed by milk (4.9%) and egg white (3.2%). Pearsons test revealed significant correlation between cat and pork (r=0.563, P=0.000). CONCLUSION: This study shows a high rate of sensitization to cat allergen especially the 0 to 3 age group. It might be caused by exposure to wild cat in the community. We need to design a policy to reduce airborne cat allergen in the community.
