Relationship Of Date Of Birth And Seasonal Allergies

Abstract

RATIONALE: Several studies have reported that people born at certain times of the year have a greater tendency to develop specific allergies. However, most of these studies have reported the correlation with date of birth as an incidental finding during multivariate analysis. These studies have reported a correlation of date (or month) of birth with the development of specific allergies. Some of these studies have been performed in relation to specific allergens such as pollen while others have examined allergic syndromes such as allergic rhinitis. We hypothesized that the allergens patients react to are determined by perinatal exposures. Hence, reactivity to seasonal allergens would be influenced by the time of the year in which they were born.METHODS: In this study we collected dates of birth and skin test data of 700. Individuals from a single center with seasonal allergies. Skin test responses (scratch and intradermal tests) to individual allergens were reduced to positive or negative skin tests. Patients were grouped by the month in which they were born. The percent distribution of people born in each month in the country was obtained. The distribution of months of birth of patients reactive to specific allergens was compared against the distribution of dates of birth for the country as a whole.RESULTS: The distribution of months of birth of patients reactive to specific allergens did not vary significantly from the distribution for the country as a whole.CONCLUSION: There is no clustering of individuals with specific allergies in specific times of the year. RATIONALE: Several studies have reported that people born at certain times of the year have a greater tendency to develop specific allergies. However, most of these studies have reported the correlation with date of birth as an incidental finding during multivariate analysis. These studies have reported a correlation of date (or month) of birth with the development of specific allergies. Some of these studies have been performed in relation to specific allergens such as pollen while others have examined allergic syndromes such as allergic rhinitis. We hypothesized that the allergens patients react to are determined by perinatal exposures. Hence, reactivity to seasonal allergens would be influenced by the time of the year in which they were born. METHODS: In this study we collected dates of birth and skin test data of 700. Individuals from a single center with seasonal allergies. Skin test responses (scratch and intradermal tests) to individual allergens were reduced to positive or negative skin tests. Patients were grouped by the month in which they were born. The percent distribution of people born in each month in the country was obtained. The distribution of months of birth of patients reactive to specific allergens was compared against the distribution of dates of birth for the country as a whole. RESULTS: The distribution of months of birth of patients reactive to specific allergens did not vary significantly from the distribution for the country as a whole. CONCLUSION: There is no clustering of individuals with specific allergies in specific times of the year.