The Correlation Between Airborne Pollen and Sensitization in Children with Respiratory Allergic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study

Lina Xu; Yinfang Dai; Wenting Luo; Wujun Jiang; Qianlei Tan; Yanhong Lu; Zhifeng Huang; Wenjing Gu; Pengyun Li; Pengli Wang; Li Huang; Huiquan Sun; Chuangli Hao; Baoqing Sun

doi:10.2147/JAA.S464444

The Correlation Between Airborne Pollen and Sensitization in Children with Respiratory Allergic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study

J Asthma Allergy. 2024 Dec 30:17:1355-1367. doi: 10.2147/JAA.S464444. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Lina Xu^#¹, Yinfang Dai^#¹, Wenting Luo^#², Wujun Jiang¹, Qianlei Tan¹, Yanhong Lu¹, Zhifeng Huang², Wenjing Gu¹, Pengyun Li¹, Pengli Wang¹, Li Huang¹, Huiquan Sun¹, Chuangli Hao¹, Baoqing Sun²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Pollen is a significant contributor to respiratory allergies worldwide, underscoring the importance of understanding its association with childhood sensitization to enhance clinical management.

Objective: This study focuses on investigating the prevalence of various airborne pollens and their correlation with clinical characteristics of childhood respiratory allergic diseases in southeastern China.

Methods: From November 2020 to October 2021, this research employed Durham monitoring samplers to collect airborne pollen. Simultaneously, skin prick tests (SPTs) were performed on children with respiratory allergic conditions at the Children's Hospital of Soochow University and standardised questionnaires are also administered to assess children's symptoms.

Results: Over the course of November 2020 to October 2021, the study identified more than 36 pollen species. Notably, the spring season (March to May) exhibited the highest pollen concentrations, with Broussonetia accounting for 30.04% and Pinus for 26.38%. Similarly, the autumn months (September to October) saw prominent taxa like Humulus scandens (47.55%) and Gramineae (35.93%). Among the patients, a significant 92.7% exhibited positive reactions, with 81.7% showing sensitization to house dust mites (HMD), 17.8% to pollen, and 3.7% to Cockroach. Noteworthy the five most common pollens were observed for Bermuda (6.0%), Elm pollen (6.0%), Birch pollen (4.6%), and Mugwort (4.6%). The study indicated a substantial multisensitized ratio among pollen-sensitized patients in comparison to non-pollen-sensitized ones (97.4% vs 1.6%, P <0.001). Moreover, weekly total airborne pollen concentrations showed positive correlations with weekly admissions due to allergic rhinitis(AR)(r=0.642, P <0.001), bronchial asthma (BA) (r= 0.472, P<0.001), and the coexistence of AR and BA (r=0.485, P <0.001).

Conclusion: The findings found that there were two peaks of pollen count in a year during March-May and September-October. The findings emphasize the critical role of specific airborne pollens in driving sensitization and exacerbating respiratory allergic diseases in children.

Keywords: China; pollen; respiratory allergic diseases.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Guangzhou Science and Technology Foundation (2023A03J0365), Guangdong Zhong Nanshan Medical Foundation (20220081); Jiangsu Province key medical discipline construction institution(JSDW202204); Suzhou Science Education and Health Program (KJXW2023027); New Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Technology and Public Health Project (SKY2022051); Suzhou Applied Basic Research Project (SYW2024099).