Prevalence of sensitization to specific allergens in allergic patients in Beijing, China: A 7-year retrospective study.

Abstract

Knowledge of the prevalence of common sensitizing allergens may aid in overall management of allergic disease in a specified area. The aim of this study was to identify and analyse the prevalence of common inhaled and food sensitizing allergens in Beijing. This was a retrospective study, analysing demographic data and serum sIgE antibody test results from 59057 outpatients who presented to Beijing TongRen Hospital, from January 2013 to December 2019. 28879 patients (48.9%) showed positive sIgE test results; with significantly more males aged under 16 years sensitized to at least one allergen than females, and most patients (53.62%) were sensitized to multiple allergens. The first inhaled sensitizing allergens was Artemisia grass (11910 (41.24%)); and the first food allergens was crab (3547 (12.28%)). For Artemisia sensitized patients, sIgE levels were mostly at level 5. The number of patients with ragweed allergy is increasing year by year. The detection rates for sIgE to Artemisia, common ragweed, and Humulus grass allergens were significantly higher in August and September. R package ggplot2 analysis, demonstrated strong correlations between tree allergens and common ragweed and Humulus grass allergens (phi coefficients = 0.50 and 0.46, respectively; both P < 0.01). The prevalence of sensitization to different allergens in Beijing showed Artemisia grass was the most commonly inhaled sensitizing allergen, and the number of patients with ragweed grass allergy was increasing by year.