Incidence of allergic diseases in an elderly population.
Recent years have shown a progressive increase of allergic disease in the elderly population worldwide. Naturally, this phenomenon has coincided with attempts to guarantee the best possible quality of life for this age group. As a result, diseases that were previously overlooked are attracting ever greater attention. An epidemiological study of allergic manifestations in the elderly conducted in all consecutive patients referred to an Allergology Unit over a three-month period at the beginning of 2008 showed that 15% belonged to the elderly population and among these, 51.8 % were suffering from an allergic reaction to drugs. Skin manifestations, including both urticaria and eczema, accounted for 71.4% of cases but only in 13.8% of these patients was there a diagnosis of an allergic reaction made and the allergen responsible individuated. Rhinitis was present in 16.8 % of the patients and food allergy in 8 %. Certainly, age-induced modifications in the immunological system can be responsible for allergic reactions. In fact, non specific immunity components such as the production of mucus or a reduced function of the T- and IL-2 cells can induce the onset of symptoms referable to allergic disease. Further studies are ongoing to gain a better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms that could justify the development in the elderly population of a cytokine phenotype that is more prone to develop allergic manifestations, and to assess the true incidence of respiratory, food and drug allergies in this stage of life.
Ventura
M T
MT
Department of Internal Medicine, Immunology and Infectious Diseases (MIDIM), University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy. mt.ventura@allergy.uniba.it
D'Amato
A
A
Giannini
M
M
Carretta
A
A
Tummolo
R A
RA
Buquicchio
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003233:Conjunctivitis, Allergic / Q000453:epidemiology; D004342:Drug Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000453:epidemiology; D004485:Eczema / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged