Allergic phenotyping and prevalence of skin prick test positive subjects in a New Jersey, USA consistent with a more northern clinical site located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada

Author:

Sadoway, T; Nelson, V; Zizek, W; Tenorio, N; Patel, P; Lee, F; Salapatek, AM

Author address:

Inflamax Research, Inc., Mississauga, ON, Canada

Full conference title:

European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Congress 2016

Abstract:

Background: Allergic disease is influenced by both genetic predisposition and environmental exposure. As such, geographic location may play a role in the phenotypes and demographics of a population in different geographies. In this study, a diverse population of individuals residing in New Jersey (NJ) were screened for self-reported allergies. NJ is identified as a warm temperate environment with dry winters and wet summers (Koppen: Cfa). The area has high € rainfall levels and warm temperatures in the summer, coinciding with a peak in pollen levels. We examined whether the phenotype and prevalence were similar in NJ to the GTA in Canada (Koppen: Dfa).

Methods: A population of 369 subjects were screened at NJ for a history of allergy. The skin prick test (SPT) panel of 15 allergens included 4 perennial allergens and 11 seasonal allergens. A positive SPT was a wheal diameter ≥3 mm larger than the neg. control. These data were analyzed with regression and statistical methods with respect to the prevalence of allergy. As well, this population was compared to a known population from Southern Canada.

Results: This population had a high prevalence of grass (55.4%) SPT positive allergic responses. A high proportion of subjects (16.2%) had Alternaria alternata positive SPT with a mean wheal diameter of 9.1 mm. However, only 2.2 and 5.2% of subjects were allergic to the other mold screened, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cladosporium cladosporioides, respectively. Comparatively, the both populations showed a high similarity for both the most prevalent perennial (cat, 45.5%-NJ and 54.3%-GTA) and seasonal allergens (birch, 48.4%-NJ and 47.7%-GTA). A notable difference between the populations can be seen in the greater prevalence of positive SPT results for ragweed in the GTA (67.4%) compared to NJ (40.4%), despite similar ragweed seasons.

Conclusion: The distribution of positive SPT to seasonal and perennial allergens from the GTA is consistent with that observed in a more southern NJ site. Despite the GTA population being a demographically diverse group, the high similarity of allergen response with the NJ can potentially lead to successful future studies being run at both sites with a degree of consistency, despite geographical differences. Such allergy prevalence mapping is important to the successful recruitment and conduct of large pivotal multicenter trials where patients are recruited from diverse geographical and climate regions across North America.

Abstract Number: 1096

Conference Year: 2016

Link Conference abstract: 

EAACI 2016

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