Prevalence of Aeroallergens in Allergic Rhinitis in Shiraz

Allergic rhinitis is an extremely common disease worldwide. Aeroallergens are very often involved in allergic rhinitis and their prevalence may vary in different regions. The causative allergens of allergic rhinitis in our area are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of skin reactivity to different aeroallergens in patients with allergic rhinitis in the city of Shiraz, Iran. A total of 212 patients who were referred to Motahari Allergy Clinic with chronic rhinitis were subjected to skin prick test (SPT) with a series of common allergenic extracts including grasses, weeds, trees, house dust mites and moulds. One hundred and thirty two subjects (62.2%) had positive SPT to at least one aeroallergen. Male to female ratio was 1.2 and mean age was 18.2 years. The prevalence rates for allergen groups were: pollens (92.4%), mites (22.7%) and moulds (8.3%). Among 122 patients reactive to pollens, 92 (75.4%) showed skin reactivity to weeds, 78 (63.9%) to grasses and 68 (55.7%) to trees. Poly sensitization was common, with 75.7% of all sensitized patients being positive to more than one aeroallergen. Pollens are the main sensitizing allergens among patients with allergic rhinitis in Shiraz. This pattern of prevalence was expected based on herbal geography, climate and also found to be compatible with the results from studies carried out in places with the same habitat.