[Natural history of pollinosis in childhood].

Out of 2.513 clinical files of allergic children, we have found 200 pollen-allergic patients, which represent 7.9% of the total allergic pathology in children, in our environment. We have studied in these 200, the most important epidemiological parameters and the influence that this can cause upon the characteristics of this disease. A male predominance has been found (70%) and it has been discovered that 52% of the total were born in spring (p less than 0.0005). An hundred per cent have shown grass-pollen sensitiveness and 52% have also shown other kinds of pollen hypersensitivity. It has been found familiar allergic background in 76.5% of the cases and in 32.5% familiar allergic history of pollinosis. Unexpectedly, those who were in lack of familiar allergic history began their clinical symptoms earlier; 51.06% before 6 years of age (p less than 0.05). Other kinds of allergic manifestations were found in 51%, being respiratory symptoms the most important (35.5%), followed by the cutaneous (23.5%) and digestive ones (10.5%). Allergy to drugs was found in 10.5%. The more frequent symptoms of pollinosis were in order of importance: rhinitis (86.5%), conjunctivitis (77%), asthma (48%), spasmodic cough (27.5%) and urticaria (4%). Asthma induced by grass-pollen hypersensitivity was equally suffered by the males as by the females, and this was more frequent among the patients who had previously suffered from non-pollinic respiratory allergies.