R. Valdivieso et al., Dust mites but not grass pollen are important sensitizers in asthmatic children in the Ecuadorian Andes, J INVES ALL, 9(5), 1999, pp. 288-292
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Clinical Immunolgy & Infectious Disease
Journal title
JOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIONAL ALLERGOLOGY & CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY
Grass pollen is an important cause of asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis in Eur
ope and the United States. In the high Andes however, the role this pollen
plays in respiratory allergies is unknown. In this study we tested the prev
alence of grass pollen sensitization in comparison to other aeroallergens o
n 433 asthmatic children living in Quite, Ecuador (the Andes mountain range
, 2,800 m above sea level). The skin prick test technique was used. We foun
d that the least sensitizing allergens of all were grass pollen (12.2%) and
molds (7.4%) with p < 0.0001. A clear predominance of sensitization to the
house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (77.8%) and Dermatophagoide
s farinae (76.9%), in comparison to the other aeroallergens tested, in term
s of sensitization (p = 0.00000) and papule size (p < 0.0002), was observed
. The most highly sensitized group consisted of asthmatics between 5 and 15
years of age (D. pteronyssinus 90.7%, D. farinae 87.5%, dog hair 37.4%, ca
t hair 43% grass pollen 15.9% and molds 9.9%). In the total study group, ma
les were only more sensitive than females to D. pteronyssinus (82.1% vs. 71
.6%, p = 0.0009). We concluded that in the group of asthmatic children stud
ied grass pollen showed a low capacity of sensitization, even though it is
widely found all over our city The most sensitizing allergens were D, ptero
nyssinus and D. farinae, followed by cat and dog hair.