INDIVIDUAL ALLERGENS AS RISK FACTORS FOR ASTHMA AND BRONCHIAL HYPERRESPONSIVENESS IN CHINESE CHILDREN

Hung ECW¹, Wong GWK¹, Fok TF¹, Zhong NS³, Chen YZ⁴, Lai CKW²

Departments of ¹Paediatrics and ²Medicine & Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong ³Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou. ⁴Clinical and Education Center for Asthma, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China

Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship of sensitization to individual allergens and the development of asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in schoolchildren from Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

Methods: Community-based random samples of 10 year-old schoolchildren from 3 Chinese cities were recruited for study using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase II protocol.

Results: A total of 3479 and 608 children were recruited for skin-prick test and bronchial challenge test. Multi-variate logistic regression analyses revealed that sensitization to D. pteronyssinus (OR = 4.48; 95% CI: 3.02-6.66), Cat (OR = 2.59; 95% CI: 1.67-4.03), D. farinae (OR = 2.41; 95% CI: 1.65-3.51) and mixed grass pollen (OR = 2.85; 95% CI: 1.24-6.50) were significantly and independently associated with current wheeze. Atopy was not an independent risk factor for current wheeze in children from any of the three cities. Furthermore, atopy (OR=2.41; 95% CI: 1.65-3.51) sensitization to cat (OR=3.01; 95% CI: 1.39-6.52) and D. farinae (OR=3.67; 95% CI: 1.93-6.97) were significantly associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

Conclusion: The high prevalence rate of sensitization to house dust mite in Hong Kong schoolchildren probably contributes to the high prevalence of childhood asthma in Hong Kong when compared with those children from Beijing and Guangzhou.

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