Sensitization to four common inhalant allergens within 302 nuclear families

SummaryThe coincidence of allergic sensitization was investigated in 302 school‐aged children and their parents. Specific sensitization to four common inhalant allergens (grass and birch pollens, cat dander, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) was ascertained by means of skin‐prick tests (SPT) carried out on the complete family unit at the beginning of a 22‐month follow‐up period. The same test procedure was then repeated on the children twice at 11‐month intervals to provide cumulative prevalences of sensitization. A clinical history of atopy in the children (hay fever or asthma; n= 47), which was derived from an interview, is associated with sensitization (positive SPT in 89%). For three allergens (grass and birch pollens, cat dander) sensitization occurs significantly more frequently in the children of mothers who are sensitized to the same allergen (odds‐ratios (ORs), 2.5–4.1). Additionally, in three of the four explanatory models related to a single antigen, maternal sensitization to one of the complementary allergens is of importance (ORs, 2.7–3.7). In contrast to this finding, none of the paternal sensitizations has statistical significance. Based on a reaction to at least one of the four allergens, the child's relative risk to be sensitized is increased in case of maternal (OR, 2.88; P= 0.001) but not of paternal (OR, 1.06; P= 0.83) sensitization. In conclusion, our data indicate that the maternal status is more predictive than that of the father with regard to the child's risk of sensitization.