Liu Yang,1 Kaijie Gao,1 Weihua Gong,1 Ci Li,1 Nan Chen,1 Tiewei Li,1 Shan Wang,1 Jiajia Ni,2,3 Junmei Yang1 

1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Children’s Infection and Immunity, Zhengzhou, Henan, People’s Republic of China; 2Research and Development Center, Guangdong Meilikang Bio-Science Ltd, Foshan, Guangdong People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Detection and Diagnosis Technology Research, Guangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Junmei Yang, Email yangjunmei7683@163.com

Purpose: Although allergic diseases in children are on the rise, there has been no comprehensive investigation of the allergens affecting children with allergic diseases in central China. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the distribution of serum allergen species among children with allergic conditions in central China to inform the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of childhood allergies.
Patients and Methods: A total of 9213 children (5543 males with 2.88 ± 0.04 years old and 3670 females with 2.91 ± 0.05 years old) underwent allergen screening, and serum allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) antibodies were detected using an automated fluorescent enzyme immunoassay system.
Results: Our findings revealed a total sIgE-positive rate (sIgE-PR) of 57.83%, with mixed food (42.10%), egg whites (30.83%), milk (28.97%), mixed dust mites (24.57%), and mixed molds (23.20%) being the most prevalent source of allergens. The sIgE-PR for common sources of allergens exhibited significant sex-based differences, with males having greater susceptibility than females (p< 0.05). Dust mites were the primary source of inhaled allergens, whereas egg white was the predominant source of food allergens. Sources of food allergens were most dominant among infants (0– 3 years old); sIgE-PRs for most source of food allergens decreased with age, whereas those for most source of inhaled allergens increased. The autumn sIgE-PRs for mixed molds, weed pollen combinations, and tree pollen combinations were significantly higher than those found in other seasons (p< 0.05).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that sources of allergens profiles in children with allergies vary across age groups and seasons. Understanding these patterns can improve the effective prevention of childhood allergies.

Keywords: allergen, childhood allergies, IgE antibodies, source of food allergens, allergy prevention