Return to content in this issue

 

Alergológica 2015: A National Survey on Allergic Diseases in the Spanish Pediatric Population

Ojeda P1, Ibáñez MD2, Olaguibel JM3, Sastre J4, Chivato T5
On behalf of the investigators participating in the National Survey of the Spanish Society of
Allergology and Clinical Immunology Alergológica 2015.

1Clínica de Asma y Alergia Dres. Ojeda, Madrid, Spain
2Servicio de Alergia, Hospital Infantil del Niño Jesús, Madrid, Spain
3Servicio de Alergia, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
4Servicio de Alergia, Hospital Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain
5Facultad de Medicina, Universidad San Pablo CEU, Madrid, Spain

J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2018; Vol 28(5) : 321-329
doi: 10.18176/jiaci.0308

Background: Allergic diseases are highly prevalent in industrialized populations. In Spain, children suspected of having an allergic disease are usually referred by their primary care pediatrician to an allergy unit at a general hospital or a children’s hospital. We report data from a subanalysis of the pediatric population in Alergológica 2015.
Methods: Data were collected from pediatric patients (age, ≤14 years) consulting an allergist for the first time in 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 in order to determine variations compared with data reported in Alergológica 2005.
Results: Alergológica 2015 included fewer pediatric patients than Alergológica 2005. The study population comprised 481 patients aged ≤14 years from more than 200 centers throughout Spain. Males accounted for 56.5%. Rhinoconjunctivitis was the main reason for consulting an allergist (53.8% vs 46.3% in 2005), followed by asthma (30.2% vs 34.6%), and food allergy (20.0% vs 14.5%).
Conclusions: The findings of Alergológica 2015 show a notable increased frequency of allergic rhinitis, drug allergy, and food allergy. The frequency of other allergic conditions remained unchanged, except for asthma, whose frequency decreased, as in adult patients.

Key words: Alergológica 2015, Epidemiological survey, Allergic diseases, Spain