Association of sensitization to food and inhalant allergens in patients of asthma and rhinitis

Results Of 1860 patients screened, 1097 (58.9 %) gave history of food allergy. Of the history positive patients 470 were skin prick tested . 29.3 % (138/470) exhibited positive reactions to one or more food(s). Rice elicited SPT positive reaction in maximum ( 6.2 %) cases followed by blackgram (5.9 %), lentil (5.5 %), citrus fruits (5.3 %), pea (3.8 %), maize (3.8%) and banana (3.6 %). Among food sensitised cases 35.5% ( 49/138 ) of patients also showed positive skin reaction to one or more pollen extracts. A majority of the food sensitized patients (52.1 %) were skin test positive to insect allergens while only 14.7 % showed positivity with fungal extracts. Positive skin reaction with food co-existed with positive SPT to insects extracts. Sensitisation to food allergen (potential food allergy) was significantly associated with asthma (P=0.0065) whereas inhalant allergens (pollen, fungal and insects) were strongly related to rhinitis (P<0.01). However sensitisation with pollens was less common in patients of asthma with rhinitis. Sensitisation to food allergens was significantly associated with asthma alone ( P=0.0001). But food sensitivity is significantly less common in cases of asthma associated with rhinitis (P<0.028). Correlations between sensitisation to aeroallergens and ten common foods were analyzed.