Prevalence of allergen-specific IgE in southern China: a multicenter research

Identifying allergen distribution is meaningful and significant for effective diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases. This study compared the allergen sensitivity in four southern China cities. We enrolled 55,432 participants (27,408 male, 28,024 female) between 2007 and 2019. The allergen-specific IgE levels were compared by the χ2 test. The five prevalent sensitivities were for mite mix (10,985, 19.82%), cockroach (4,860, 8.77%), crab (4,450, 8.03%), fish mix (3,874, 6.99%), and house dust (3,486, 6.29%). Almost all allergen sensitivities decreased with age, particularly from infant to middle aged participants (p < 0.05). An exception was Shenzhen, where food allergen positive rates remained constant in all age groups studied. The proportion of male sensitive to at least one food allergen (OR 1.130; 95% CI 1.088–1.174, p < 0.0025) or aeroallergen (OR, 1.117; 95% CI, 1.078–1.158, p < 0.0025) was higher than female in all four cities. Except for dog dander and tree mix, all aeroallergens differed significantly between seasons (p < 0.05). Liuzhou had the highest rates of food allergen- and aeroallergen-positive participants. The allergen-specific IgE distribution differed among the studied cities, with significant seasonal differences. Young age, male sex, and aeroallergens were risk factors for allergic disease.