Objectives: This study aims to investigate pollen, mite and mold sensitivities among children with frequent respiratory tract infection living in damp apartments and to evaluate the effects of separated parents, education status, ethnicity, the presence of siblings, and their atopy status on the development of atopy.
Patients and methods: Between June 2012 and September 2013, 63 children (28 girls, 35 boys; mean age 80.2 years; range 24 to 97 years) who were admitted to Acıbadem Bodrum Hospital with at least six respiratory tract infection per year with mold exposure and prolonged cough attacks and underwent skin prick test (SPT) were included. Skin prick test-positive patients were further divided into groups according to the upper respiratory tract (URT) or lower respiratory tract (LRT) involvement and were assessed for mold, mite and pollen sensitivities.
Results: One-third of the patients were SPT positive. The parents of these patients had physician-diagnosed allergy (p<0.05). Most patients with mite sensitivity presented with URT and LRT findings (p<0.05). Pollen-sensitive patients had predominantly URT findings (p<0.05). All children with mold sensitivity presented with LRT findings (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Atopic children may experience more frequent LRT symptoms when exposed to molds than non-atopic children. Mold exposure may also cause inflammation at LRT without causing immunoglobulin E-dependent sensitization.