Abstract
Background: Public health measures during COVID-19 have led to an unprecedented change in social lifestyle which might have an impact on the allergen sensitization in population. We sought to explore the prevalence patterns of serum allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) sensitization and serum total immunoglobulin E (tIgE) level among patients with clinical symptoms of suspected allergic diseases before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in south China. Methods: We assessed cross-sectional datasets from the First Affiliated Hospital of the Guangzhou Medical University from 2017 to 2020. Data on clinical symptoms of the patients with suspected allergic diseases in the hospital were collected and data from February to June in each year were extracted. Chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used to test statistical significance among years. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the magnitudes of the differences among years. Findings: The number of hospital visits for patients with suspected allergy symptoms decreased compared with previous years during COVID-19. For inhalant allergens, there was a statistically significant difference (PDermatophagoides pteronyssinus, 1·43 (P=0·024) for Dermatophagoides farina, 1·50 (PDermatophagoides pteronyssinus and tIgE were statistically different (PInterpretation: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the positive rate of inhalant allergens and tIgE level increased while the positive rate of food allergens remained stable. Staying at home for a long time without frequent ventilation, insufficient sunshine or storing food at home might contribute to the result. Funding: The Science and Technology Development Fund, Macau SAR and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interest exists. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the ethic committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Reference number: GYFYY-2016-73) of Guangzhou Medical University. Written informed consent was obtained from all adults and legal guardians of the participating children.
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