title: Month of birth and sensitization to dust mites in New England.
abstract: Charts from 908 patients born in New England and seen at the Lahey Clinic because of allergic rhinitis or asthma or both were reviewed to ascertain whether or not a relationship existed between month of birth and subsequent development of allergy to house dust mites. Prick/puncture and intradermal skin tests for aeroallergens were performed on all patients. Skin tests for Dermatophagoides farinae (Df) mite were scored very positive (VP) in 451 patients (49.7%), mildly positive (MP) in 234 patients (25.7%), and negative (NEG) in 223 patients (24.6%). No discernible difference in frequency of birth could be identified for any single month for either Df-sensitive or Df-negative patients. Comparisons of 4-month periods (May through August, September through December, and January through April) failed to show a seasonal predilection for month of birth. During the 6-month period of February through July, a slight difference was observed for the overall group of 908 patients: 240 of the VP patients (53.2%), 111 of the MP patients (47.4%), and 105 of the NEG patients (47.1%) were born within this period compared with 211 VP patients (46.8%), 123 MP patients (52.6%), and 118 NEG patients (52.9%) who were born within the period of August through January. The difference among the groups was not statistically different (P = 0.20). Of the 225 children and adolescents who were either VP or MP, 125 patients (55.6%) were born within the period of February through July; of the 83 children and adolescents who were NEG, 37 patients (44.6%) were born within that same period. Although dust-mite allergic patients and, in particular, children and adolescents with asthma or rhinitis or both tended to be born within the period of February through July, no clear-cut statistically significant predilection in month of birth or season could be identified for New England-born adult or pediatric mite-allergic patients with rhinitis or asthma or both.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Immunology, Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center, Burlington, MA 01805, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Saryan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouras
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008925:Mites / Q000276:immunology*; D009511:New England; D012621:Seasons; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides; D006023:Glycoproteins