OBJECTIVETo study the high risk factors of allergen sensitization among 1-16 years old children with allergic rhinitis (AR) symptoms.

METHODSMedical history was collected from 518 children with AR symptoms aged 1 to 16 years old between April 2011 and November 2012, including five aspects:basic information, disease characteristics, associated with other allergic diseases, growth and development history and genetic history and so on. The allergens were determined by UniCAP 100 system. The high risk factors of allergen sensitization (sIgE ≥ grade III) among 1-16 years old children with AR symptoms were analyzed. The data processing and statistical analysis were conducted by SPSS 17.0 software.

RESULTSThree hundred and thirty of 518 patients (63.7%) could be diagnosed as AR. The primary allergen was mixed fungal (52.4%). The highest percentage of allergen sIgE ≥ grade III accounted for the corresponding allergen positive cases was 71.1% (mixed fungal). Single factor analysis of clinical characteristics in the groups of AR and non AR showed that the history of months(χ(2) = -3.591), concomitant allergic conjunctivitis (χ(2) = 12.325) and cats or dogs at home (χ(2) = 5.615) were statistically significant between the two groups (all P < 0.05).In children with AR, single factor analysis of clinical characteristics in the groups of whether positive allergen level ≥ grade III showed that the concomitant asthma(χ(2) = 4.097), breastfeeding(χ(2) = 4.186), the housing situation (χ(2) = 4.360) and the bedroom toward (χ(2) = 4.656) were statistically significant between the two groups (all P < 0.05). In children with AR, single factor analysis of clinical characteristics in different age groups showed that the history of months(χ(2) = 64.999), concomitant eczema (χ(2) = 24.056), concomitant insect bite dermatitis (χ(2) = 9.148), cats or dogs at home (χ(2) = 8.529) and mother suffered from AR (χ(2) = 9.565) were statistically significant in different age groups (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe study revealed that the longer of history, concomitant allergic conjunctivitis and cats or dogs at home are risk factors for AR;In children with AR, not breastfeeding and the bedroom toward back are risk factors for inhalation allergen sIgE ≥ gradeIII.

Adolescent ; Allergens ; immunology ; Animals ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; immunology ; Infant ; Male ; Pets ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; etiology ; immunology ; Risk Factors ; Skin Tests

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a microsporidian parasite commonly found in rabbits that can infect humans, causing encephalitozoonosis. The prevalence of encephalitozoonosis is not well documented, even when many clinics suspect pet rabbits as being highly infected. This study investigated the seropositivity of E. cuniculi using ELISA. The examination of 186 rabbits using ELISA showed that 22.6% (42/186) were seropositive against E. cuniculi. In analysis with healthy status, all 42 seropositive sera were collected from clinically normal rabbits. Moreover, the gender and age of pet rabbits did not have anysignificant effect on E. cuniculi infection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to describe the seroprevalence of E. cuniculi in pet rabbits and suggests that pet rabbits could act as an important reservoir of encephalitozoonosis for both pet animals and humans in Korea.
Animals ; Antibodies, Fungal/*blood ; Encephalitozoon cuniculi/*immunology ; Encephalitozoonosis/epidemiology/*veterinary ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; *Pets ; Rabbits ; Seroepidemiologic Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of wheeze using nation-wide cross-sectional study in Korean children. Total 50,200 children from 427 elementary schools were randomly selected according to residential areas (metropolitan, provincial, rural, and industrial areas) by the cluster sampling method. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires were used to measure the prevalence of wheeze. Among 31,026 respondents, 25,322 were analyzed. BMI was classified into quartiles based on BMI-for-age percentile. In all residential areas, pets at home and visible mold or moisture were associated with an increased prevalence of wheeze in both genders. However, other living environment factors were not consistently associated among residential areas and gender. Among girls, lowest BMI was negatively associated with prevalence of wheeze and highest BMI was positively associated in all residential areas. In multilevel logistic regression analysis, environmental tobacco smoking exposure, pets at home, visible mold or moisture, and being in the lowest and highest BMI quartile were significantly associated with the prevalence of wheeze in both genders. BMI has become an important risk factor for asthma symptoms among Korean children.
Allergens ; Asthma/*epidemiology ; Body Composition ; *Body Mass Index ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; *Environmental Exposure ; Female ; Fungi/immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Pets/immunology ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; *Residence Characteristics ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution ; Water