Pollen-related allergy in Italy.
Pollen-related allergies are very common in Italy and pollinosis is the commonest allergic disease. The type of allergenic plants and the prevalence of hay fever varies among regions. In the Mediterranean area there are characteristic climatic conditions (mildness of winter, summer dryness) that facilitate the growth of a typical vegetation with its associated various types of allergenic pollen grains, some of them very different from those of central and northern Europe. Italy has a central position in the Mediterranean basin, but because of its geographic characteristics, there are different climatic aspects with different vegetation between northern, central, and southern areas. Gramineae are the most common allergenic plants in northern and central Italy, where more than 60% of patients with pollinosis are grass-pollen sensitive. Parietaria is the most important pollinating plant in southern Italy and Liguria. Olea europaea, the olive tree with cultivation widespread in the whole Mediterranean basin, is responsible for frequently severe pollinosis, particularly in some regions of the southern Italy.
D'Amato
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G
Department of Respiratory Diseases, Hospital A. Cardarelli, Naples, Italy.
Dal Bo
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S
Bonini
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S
D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology*; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology*
D000485:Allergens