The prevalence of allergic conditions and immediate skin test reactions among Finnish adolescents

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Abstract
Summary: The purpose of the study was to determine the skin reactivity of 14–16‐year‐old adolescents to common allergens and its connections with the occurrence of bronchial wheezing, asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic eczema. The series consisted of 218 persons living in south‐eastern Finland. All the persons who took part in the study filled out a questionnaire concerning symptoms of any allergy. They were prick skin‐tested with eight common allergens and examined clinically by the author. Positive skin test reactions were observed in sixty‐six cases (31%), forty‐one of which (62%) had past or present allergic symptoms. Symptoms indicating past or current allergy were observed in seventy persons (32%). 59% of the young people who had or had had allergic disorders were found to have a positive skin test; the figure for the asymptomatic group was 17%. Allergic rhinitis was most clearly connected with the positive skin test. 83% of those with rhinitis had a positive skin test, whereas the figure for bronchial wheezing and asthma was 70% and for eczema 44%. The prevalence of allergic symptoms and skin test positivity was about the same between the sexes, but the boys had experienced bronchial wheezing twice as often as the girls. This study shows that the prevalence of allergic symptoms, when the mild manifestations are also taken into account, is higher in Finland than is assumed. The occurrence of skin test positivity in the age groups examined is about the same as that observed in previous studies on this subject.