[Pollenosis in children in the Tatra Mountain region]

During the last 20 years we can observe a marked rise of allergic diseases in the child and adult population with a dominant increase of pollenoses in children. It is assumed that this adverse development is due to changes in the ecosystem caused above all by contamination of the living environment. Our objective was to examine school children in Tatranská Strba and Strbské Pleso as regards sensitization to different groups of pollen allergens. By investigating several factors associated with the development of the disease, the authors wanted to elucidate the prevalence of pollenosis in the environment devoid of industrial exhalations.

The investigated group comprised 160 school children aged 6-15 years (mean age 10.4 years) incl. 83 boys (mean age 10.1 years) and 77 girls (mean age 10.7 years). Skin tests revealed sensitization to pollen allergens in 50 boys (60.2%) and 35 girls (45.5%). Positivity to grass pollen was found in 35.7%, to weeds and bushes in 16.3% and to pollen from trees in 7.8%. The percentage of positivity to individual types of pollen allergens as well as the maximum of clinical complaints corresponds to the type of vegetation where the children live. The influence of genetic factors was manifested at the 92% level of significance (p = 0.056), after Yates' correction (p = 0.081). Atopic children have in 62.4% a positive family-history. In conjunction with the incidence of allergoses the test of rank correlation confirmed statistically significant agreement between sick and healthy children as regards the period of breastfeeding (p = 0.0024), beginning of attendance of preschool facilities (p = 0.0052) as well as the month of birth (p = 0.0150).

From the investigation ensues that the local vegetation has an impact on the specific sensitization of individual subjects and plays a part in the manifestation of pollenosis in a relatively clean environment--the High Tatras being considered such. It can be assumed that the coincidence of genetic factors, lifestyle and factors of the outdoor environment participate in the rising prevalence of pollenosis.