Open Access, Peer-reviewed
pISSN 2288-0402
eISSN 2288-0410
    Allergy Asthma Respir Dis. 2014 Mar;2(1):38-47. Korean.
    Published online Mar 31, 2014.
    https://doi.org/10.4168/aard.2014.2.1.38
    © 2014 The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease; The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology
    Original Article

    The correlation between allergy sensitization rate in pediatric and aerobiological study for airborne pollen in Busan for 15 years

    Myong Soon Sung,1 Yong-Jin Park,1 Geun Hwa Park,1 Jae Won Oh,2 and Sung Won Kim1
      • 1Department of Pediatrics, Busan St. Mary's Hospital, Busan, Korea.
      • 2Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Guri, Korea.
    • Correspondence to: Sung Won Kim. Department of Pediatrics, Busan St. Mary's Hospital, 25-14 Yongho-ro 232beon-gil, Nam-gu, Busan 608-838, Korea. Tel: +82-51-933-7981, Fax: +82-51-936-7531, Email: sbdph1@daum.net
    Received May 27, 2013; Revised September 05, 2013; Accepted September 07, 2013.

    This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/).

    Abstract

    Purpose

    Airborne pollen is the most common causative agents of allergic disease. Since 2000, there isn't no more report about airborne pollen in Busan. This study is that pollen in one area of Busan was collected to investigate species, particle counts, seasonal distribution, and of its correlation with reactivity to skin prick test in children during 1998-2012.

    Methods

    Rotorod sampler was installed on the rooftop of St. Mary Hospital in Busan. A 24-hour sampling of airborne allergens over a fifteen-year period was conducted 6 days/wk from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2012. After staining they were identified, counted and recorded with the weather in Busan.

    Results

    Major pollens collected were Pine, Alder, Oak, Juniperus, Humulus. The pollen season is relatively short and the pollen dispersed mainly during the period from March to May in case of tree pollen, from April to September in case of grass pollen and from August to October in case of weed pollen. Total annual pollen count ranged from 36,412 grains/m3 (2002) to 1,342 grains/m3 (2006). The peak pollen season was seen for spring and autumn, especially in May and September during 1998-2012. In skin prick tests, birch was the highest sensitization rate (15.1%), followed by alder (14.7%), hazel (14.1%) in the tree for 15 years. And in weed, mugwort and ragweed were the highest sensitization rate (10.6%, 10.3%), followed by humulus (5.5%) for 15 years, but since 2008, was increased.

    Conclusion

    Analysis of pollens sampled in the atmosphere of Busan, Korea, for a 15-year period identified 24 species of pollens with seasonal variation of some clinically important pollen load. Analysis of data, it showed that alder and birch are main allergen in spring for 15 years, and in 1998-2008, ragweed and artemisia was main allergen in fall, since 2009, followed by humulus.

    Keywords
    Airborne pollen; Allergy sensation rate; Busan

    Figures

    Fig. 1
    The annual total pollen counts-tree, grass, weed, and year average temperature for 15 years in Busan, Korea.

    Fig. 2
    The seasonal distribution of tree, weed, and grass for 15 years in Busan, Korea (1998.1.1-2012.12.31).

    Fig. 3
    The distribution of tree pollen (A) for 15 years and the annual variation in the pollen count of individual tree - Pine (B), Alder (C), Oak (D), Birch (E) in Busan, Korea (1998.1.1-2012.12.31).

    Fig. 4
    The distribution of weed pollen (A) and the annual variation in the pollen count of individual weed-Ragweed (B), Artemisia (C), Humulus (D) in Busan, Korea (1998.1.1-2012.12.31).

    Fig. 5
    The correlation between allergy sensation rate and pollen-Tree (A), Weed (B), Grass (C) in Busan, Korea (1998.1.1-2012.12.31).

    Fig. 6
    An allergic pollen calender for Busan, Korea.

    Tables

    Table 1
    The list of annual average pollen counts for 15 years in Busan

    Table 2
    The characteristics of pollen in Busan for 15 years

    Table 3
    Characteristics of atopic patient in Busan St. Mary's Hospital for 15 years

    Table 4
    The distribution of allergen sensitization rate for 15 years in Busan St. Mary's Hospital

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    MeSH Terms
    Allergens
    Alnus
    Ambrosia
    Artemisia
    Atmosphere
    Betula
    Busan
    Child
    Humans
    Humulus
    Hypersensitivity*
    Juniperus
    Korea
    Poaceae
    Pollen*
    Seasons
    Skin
    Weather
    Metrics
    Share
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    Tables
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