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Prevalence of positive skin prick test results in children with Down syndrome: a case-control study
Susan E Mannan1, Ejaz Yousef, Jobayer Hossain
1Division of Allergy and Immunology, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware 19803, USA.
Insights
Children with Down syndrome (DS) show a low prevalence of positive skin prick tests (SPT) to common allergens. This suggests allergic rhinitis is unlikely to cause their chronic nasal symptoms, potentially reducing unnecessary specialist referrals for DS patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Genetics and Rare Diseases
- Otolaryngology
Background:
- Children with Down syndrome (DS) often present with otologic and nasal issues.
- These symptoms overlap with those seen in children with atopic disease, leading to allergy referrals.
- Evaluating the prevalence of allergies in DS is crucial for accurate diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of positive skin prick test (SPT) reactions to common aeroallergens in children with Down syndrome.
- To assess the likelihood of allergic rhinitis as a cause of chronic rhinitis in this population.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study design was employed.
- Medical records of children with Down syndrome who underwent SPT were reviewed.
- Cases were matched by sex and age with controls evaluated by SPT.
Main Results:
- Eighteen percent of children with Down syndrome had at least one positive SPT result.
- This contrasts sharply with 54% of controls showing positive SPT results.
- The positive SPT rate in DS children is significantly lower than the general population (54.3%).
Conclusions:
- The low prevalence of positive SPT results suggests allergic rhinitis is an infrequent cause of chronic rhinitis in children with Down syndrome.
- Avoiding unnecessary allergy evaluations may reduce the burden of specialist appointments for these children.
- Further research with larger cohorts is recommended to confirm these findings.
Background:
Because many of the same otologic and nasal problems experienced by children with Down syndrome are also frequent in children with atopic disease, many children with Down syndrome are referred to an allergist for evaluation.
Objective:
To determine the prevalence of positive skin prick test (SPT) reactions to common aeroallergens in children with Down syndrome.
Methods:
Using a case-control design, we reviewed the medical records of children with Down syndrome who had undergone SPT. Each case was matched by sex and age with a control who had been evaluated by SPT at an initial visit.
Results:
Thirty-nine cases and controls were identified. Eighteen percent of cases were found to have at least 1 positive SPT result compared with 54% of controls. This closely approximates the percentage of the general population with at least 1 positive SPT result (54.3%) as reported in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Conclusions:
Given the low prevalence of positive SPT results in children with Down syndrome, it is unlikely that allergic rhinitis will be identified as the cause of many of the chronic rhinitis symptoms that many of these children are referred to an allergy practice to have evaluated. It may be helpful to the parents and to the patients themselves to avoid involving another specialist and appointment because they frequently are involved with many specialists for medical care. A larger study would be helpful in confirming the prevalence of positive SPT results in children with Down syndrome.
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