Methods: This retrospective study included pediatric patients (0-18 years old) with AD who visited Samsung Medical Center from 1998 to 2014. The serum specific IgE (sIgE) levels of egg white (EW), cow’s milk (CM), peanut, wheat, soy, buckwheat, tree nuts, crustaceans, meats and house dust mites (HDMs) were reviewed. The sIgE level ≥ 0.35 kU/L was regarded as positive. AD was categorized into the extrinsic type (ADe) and the intrinsic type (ADi) according to the presence or absence of positive sIgE. We compared the proportion of sensitized children according to their ages using Chi-Square Test. The prevalence of immediate-type egg and CM allergies was also evaluated based on the previously reported diagnostic decision point (DDP).1)
Results: Data were collected from total of 4775 children (2928 boys and 1847 girls). We identified 3321 (69.5%) children with ADe type, and 1455 (30.5%) with ADi type. There was no difference in the proportion of sensitized patients according to their age (P value = 0.538). Ratio of positive sIgE among the individual food item was the highest in EW (2348/3994, 58.8%), followed by CM (1776/3836, 46.3%), peanut (1244/3848, 32.3%), wheat (1119/3546, 31.6%), soy (984/3503, 28.1%), and buckwheat (267/1118, 23.9%). Among the food groups, tree nuts (405/715, 56.6%) were the most common allergens. Sensitization to Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus was found in 43.5% (799/1837) and 39.3% (722/1837), respectively. In addition, 10.9% (435/3994) and 7.4% (284/3836) showed the higher levels of sIgE to EW and CM than previously reported DDP.
Conclusions: The frequency of ADe among all the children with AD was 69.5%. The most frequently sensitized food allergen was EW, followed by CM and peanut.
Reference:
1. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2015;7(4):332-8