Demographic Profile of Dust Mite Sensitization among Indian Children using Standardized Allergens: An Observational Study

Abstract

Among allergic diseases, house dust mites (HDM) are the major group of aeroallergens found in diverse habitats. Few studies were conducted in the adult Indian population regarding the prevalence of HDM sensitization using standardized allergens by skin prick tests (SPT). To evaluate the demographic profile of dust mite sensitization among Indian children by SPT using standardized allergens. An observational study was conducted among 937 children with IgE mediated allergic diseases. SPT test was performed using six different types of standardized dust mite allergens viz. Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (DP), Dermatophagoides farinae (DF),Blomia tropicalis (BT), Acarus siro (AS), Lepidoglyphus destructor (LD),and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (TP) along with serum-specific IgE for DP, DF, and BT only. Relevant association and correlation statistics was applied using SPSS v 25 (IBM, New York, USA) and p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. The mean age of the participants was 7.8±3.8 years with a male predilection (male to female ratio = 1.9: 1). Most of the cases were from Tamilnadu (18.9%) followed by West Bengal (14.6%) and the majority were having perennial allergies with seasonal exacerbations (57.7%). Most of the children (36.1%) with HDM sensitizations were suffering from allergic rhinitis (AR) associated with asthma and DP was the most common (68.2%) HDM followed by DF (66.8%), and BT (32.4%). The association between categories of wheal in SPT and serum-specific IgE level among DP and DF was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Hence we conclude that D. pteronyssinus is the most common house dust mite sensitization seen in IgE mediated allergic diseases among children. Asthma associated with allergic rhinitis was found to be the most common IgE mediated disease among D. pteronyssinus sensitized children.