Allergen sensitization pattern of allergic adults and children in southern China: a survey based on real life data

Allergic diseases are increasing yearly. We aimed to evaluate the difference in allergen sensitization pattern between adults and children in southern China by analyzing a large sample size of real-life data, and to provide the evidence for formulating the prevention and management strategies. Retrospective analysis was conducted on 39,813 serum allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) results collected in southern China from January to December in 2017. Sensitization patterns and how these allergens could lead to the allergic diseases were analyzed for adults and children respectively. The difference of allergen positive rate between groups was calculated using the Chi square test. The top five most sensitized allergens in southern China were house dust mite (28.1%), cockroach (24.3%), shrimp (19.2%), crab (15.5%) and egg white (9.9%). While cockroach had the highest positive rate in adults (29.2%), the most sensitized allergen in children was house dust mite (29.7%). The positive rates of egg white and cow's milk in children were higher than in adults for the whole year (p