Prevalence of allergic sensitization to inhalant allergens among blood donors in Kuwait ‐ a desert country

Abstract

Kuwait is a desert country where the prevailing high temperatures, low humidity, and scant vegetation suggest a low prevalence of allergy. We evaluated the prevalence of atopic sensitization (presence of allergen-specific IgE) among young adult blood donors by screening a total of 505 subjects (male: female ratio 1.6) with mean age of 28.4 years (range 18-50 years). The Pharmacia CAP-Phadiatop test, which detects serum IgE specific to most common airborne allergens, was used. Some of the specific sensitizing allergens were also identified by the related CAP-RAST method. Sensitization was detected in 223 of the 505 subjects (44.2%) screened. Kuwaiti nationals had a significantly higher prevalence rate (50.2%) than non-Kuwaitis (34.2%) (chi 2 = 8.6, P < 0.003). The highest prevalence rate was found among male Kuwaitis (53.8%). The prevalence of current or previous allergic disease (subject-reported) was 20.6%. Bermuda grass, house-dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus), and Chenopodium album were the most prevalent sensitizing allergens, with frequencies of 53.6%, 52.7%, and 50.9%, respectively, among the sensitized subjects (corresponding to 23.7%, 23.3%, and 22.5%, respectively) for the entire population. Sensitization increased with age, but only among the expatriates, younger Kuwaitis being as frequently sensitized as the older ones. Polysensitization was found to be common. Of the 109 CAP-RAST-positive subjects, 71 (65.1%) were sensitized to more than one allergen, and 30 of these (42.3%) were sensitized to four or more allergens. These results show that atopy is highly prevalent among young adults in Kuwait, and the higher prevalence rate among nationals than expatriates suggests the involvement of genetic or local environmental factors. The results also confirm that mite and plant pollens may be major sensitizing allergens even in a desert environment.

Prevalence of Fungal Allergens in Respiratory Allergic Patients in Ahvaz City, Southwest Iran

“…In this regard, some studies agree with us (25,30) and others against us (33,34). Of 295 patients with allergic rhinitis, 190 (64.4%) patients had a family history of allergic disease.…”

“…Differences in the rate of positive SPT can be due to various factors such as number of allergens tested, climatic region and age of patients. With regard to optimum growing conditions, including high humidity for molds (28,29), Unexpectedly, this particular allergy was also found in hot and dry regions, like Saudi Arabia (6) and Kuwait (9,30), It might be associated with increasing the use of air conditioners inside the houses which make good environment for molds to grow and increase exposure to their allergens (26,28).…”

Reference Values of Total Serum IgE and Their Significance in the Diagnosis of Allergy in Young European Adults

“…Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome) [16] and some neoplasms [17]. However, since the population on which our reference value determination was based was a random sample of the general European young adult population, with expected low prevalence of the previous conditions, it is more likely that the elevated IgE-t levels represented a general feature to which genetic and/or environmental factors may contribute [18, 19]. We also have to consider that our classification of atopy was based on a limited battery of allergens and we cannot exclude that a proportion of non-atopic subjects with IgE-t levels beyond the reference value could be due to sensitization to allergens that were not included, although the allergens used are the most representative ones in Europeans [14].…”

Identification and Characterization of Che a 1 Allergen from <i>Chenopodium album</i> Pollen

“…Areas of high incidence have been reported in the south of Spain, western USA, and Saudi Arabia [3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14], the pollination season lasting from June to October. In desert environments, such as Kuwait, Chenopodiaceae pollens are the main sensitizing agents among patients with allergic rhinitis or asthma with prevalence values higher than those for dusts or molds [10, 11, 12, 13]. However, scarce data are available on C. album pollen allergens, since low reactivity was detected in immunoblotting using both individual sera from sensitive patients [9]and pools of patient sera [1, 8].…”