Jieyan Ma,1 Genfeng Wu,2 Heming Huang,1 Gaochi Li3 

1Clinical Laboratory, Longgang District Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital of Shenzhen City (Affiliated Shenzhen Women and Children’s Hospital (Longgang) of Shantou University Medical College), Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Paediatrics, Longgang District Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital of Shenzhen City (Affiliated Shenzhen Women and Children’s Hospital (Longgang) of Shantou University Medical College), Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3Genetics Laboratory, Longgang District Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital of Shenzhen City (Affiliated Shenzhen Women and Children’s Hospital (Longgang) of Shantou University Medical College), Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Gaochi Li, Genetics Laboratory, Longgang District Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital of Shenzhen City (Affiliated Shenzhen Women and Children’s Hospital (Longgang) of Shantou University Medical College), Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China, Email leecoach198009@126.com

Background: Due to the inability of children with allergies to exhibit appropriate clinical symptoms, pediatricians often face the challenge of accurately diagnosing allergic diseases in children. Identifying the distribution of allergens is essential for the effective diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases.
Methods: We investigated the distribution of 28 allergens among 12,292 suspected allergic children in Shenzhen, whose serum-specific IgE was subjected to relevance analysis with influencing factors.
Results: The results showed the overall allergen distribution was 66.36%. Mite, cow’s milk, and egg white were the most prevalent allergens. Indoor allergens are significantly higher than outdoor allergens. There was extensive cross-reactivity among homologous species of allergens such as crustacean allergens, plant-derived allergens, etc. A 14KDa profilin as a common ingredient is suspected to be the main cause of the cross-reactivity among these plant-derived allergens. The frequencies of mite, cow’s milk and egg white showed different trends with growing age, indicating that the frequencies of allergens are age-related. Various mechanisms of immune systems of children mature at different ages. We found that the proportion of mite sensitivity was highest in children with allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis, while the proportion of cow’s milk and egg white sensitivity was higher in children with allergic dermatitis such as eczema and urticaria.
Conclusion: Age and cross-reactivity play important roles in diagnosing allergies in children. Children at different ages exhibit varying sensitivities to different types of allergens, and identifying cross-reactions helps to comprehensively understand children’s allergic status. Pediatricians can develop corresponding prevention and management measures based on allergen results and clinical symptoms.

Keywords: allergen distribution, correlation, cross-reactivity, age, allergic symptoms