AGE-DEPENDENT DIFFERENCES IN THE PREVALENCE OF ALLERGIC RHINITIS AND ATOPIC SENSITIZATION BETWEEN AN EASTERN AND A WESTERN GERMAN CITY

Recent studies have found a higher prevalence of allergic rhinitis and atopic sensitization among adults living in eastern than those living in western Germany We hypothesize that prevalence rates were similar before Germany was divided and diverged after the division. Because th ere are no historical data comparing atopic status between the two par ts of Germany, we tested this hypothesis by comparing the prevalence o f atopy among persons who were born during different decades. As part of the EC Respiratory Health Survey, a respiratory health questionnair e was mailed to a population-based sample of 8363 subjects aged 20-44 years from a city in the former West Germany (Hamburg) and a city in t he former East Germany (Erfurt). Of the target population: 6428 (77%) subjects responded. Subsamples of 731 subjects from Erfurt and 1159 su bjects from Hamburg participated in medical examinations, including sk in prick tests and specific IgE measurements. Prevalence rates of alle rgic sensitization were similar in Hamburg and Erfurt for those born i n the periods 1946-51 and 1952-61, respectively, but differed between Hamburg and Erfurt subjects born in the period 1962-71. After adjustme nt for several potential predictors, the younger subjects from Hamburg had a higher odds ratio (OR) of sensitization than those Hamburg subj ects born before 1952 (skin prick test reactivity: OR 2.06, any specif ic IgE > 0.35 kU/l: OR 1.61). The younger subjects from Erfurt were no t more frequently sensitized than the older subjects (skin prick test reactivity: OR 1.05, any specific IgE > 0.35 kU/l: OR 0.79). No single allergen could be identified as responsible for the observed differen ce. We conclude that factors related to a ''Western lifestyle'', which were prevalent in the West German city during the 1960s and 1970s. ma y be responsible for the higher prevalence of allergic sensitization o bserved in Hamburg.