Prevalence of sIgE response to allergens in different regions of
mainland China
Table 2 displayed detailed data of each allergen in seven regions of
mainland China. The chi-square test was applied to test the difference
in the prevalence of sensitization to allergens among seven regions. The
results showed a significant difference in the prevalence among regions
for all 9 allergens except for the mold mix. To show the prevalence
results integrated with the map of China, we generated a heatmap of the
prevalence of the sIgE response to allergens in different regions
(Figure 3). From the figure, we can obtain the distribution of the
prevalence of the sIgE response to allergens in different regions of
mainland China.
The prevalence patterns of the egg whites and milk in Central China
(16.91% and 17.55%, respectively) and East China (14.67% and 15.99%,
respectively) and South China (12.23% and 15.16%, respectively) were
higher than those in Southwest China, North China and Northeast China
(all lower than 9.68%), which means that patients living in eastern,
coastal and or southern areas were more sensitive to egg whites and
cow’s milk. For crab and shrimp, the prevalence of both sensitization in
Southwest China (19.14% and 22.69%, respectively) and South China
(17.5% and 19.3%, respectively) was higher than that in the northern
regions (North China and Northeast China, which were both lower by
7.19%). House dust mites were the allergen with the highest positive
rate in all 7 regions, with the highest in South China (40.79%),
followed by East China (36.00%) and Southwest China (32.22%), and the
lowest positive rates were found in Northeast China (11.21%). Allergies
to German cockroaches had a higher prevalence in southern regions
(Southwest China (29.25%), South China (21.67%) and East China
(20.85%)) than in northern regions (North China (7.32%) and Northeast
China (5.97%)). The prevalence of sIgE responses to dog dander were the
highest in North China (8.72%), and the prevalence in the southern
regions (3.18~4.14%) was very close to each other.