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Urbanization affects development of allergen sensitization among elderly

Urbanization was linked with self-reported rhinitis symptoms and sensitization to inhalant allergens in an elderly South Korean population, according to study results.

Woo-Jung Song, MD, of the Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Seoul National University Medical Research Center, and colleagues collected data from 1,311 elderly individuals using a cross-sectional survey from two populations.

Residents were recruited from urban (n = 853; mean age 75.5 years) and semirural and rural areas (n = 458; mean age, 70.6 years) to analyze how the degree of urbanization impacted the generality of allergic sensitization and self-reported rhinitis symptoms. Participants living in urban areas (17.2%) were more likely than their rural counterparts (6%) to experience inhalant allergen sensitization (P <.001).

Living in an urban area also was the lone prominent factor independently associated with inhalant allergen sensitization (adjusted OR = 4.51; 95% CI, 1.79-11.4).

Senior citizens living in urban areas also were more likely to experience house dust mite sensitization (aOR = 11.8; 95% CI, 2.38-58.19) than those living in semirural areas (aOR = 3.73; 95% CI, 1.05-13.16).

The elderly populations living in urban areas had higher rates of self-reported rhinitis (26.8%) than those living in semirural (18.2%) or rural (11.5%) areas (P for trend, <.001).

The researchers said their cross-sectional study, which warrants further investigation, was limited in that causal or temporal relations could not be determined.

“The relations between urbanization and sensitization could have been confounded by previous living environments, previous occupation, and place of birth, the data of which were not collected in this study,” the researchers wrote. –by Ryan McDonald

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.