OBJECTIVES. We reviewed the literature on allergic disorders during adolescence.
MATERIAL AND METHODS. The Pubmed, Google, Google Scholar and Proquest Central databases were used with search terms: adolescent, teenager, allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis and food allergy.
RESULTS. Children with a proven allergy have a risk for developing another allergic disorder that is 8-fold higher compared to normal and approaching 7-fold for asthma. The age at which allergy is diagnosed in childhood has a powerful bearing on whether allergic disorders or asthma develop in adolescence. Atopic response severity in a patient during childhood predicts the severity of allergic asthma as an adult. Patients may become asthmatic as adolescents, probably due to a late presentation of allergic disease, or as the presenting complaint for the triad of intrinsic asthma, nasal polyp formation and aspirin intolerance (so-called Samter triad). Allergic eczema (Atopic dermatitis) carries on into their adolescent years in between 10 and 20% of children. Food allergy (FA) is more frequently noted in childhood and adolescence than in adulthood. For the most part, symptoms were attributable to pollen-associated FA and of mild severity. Being hypersensitive to food for non-allergic reasons was rarer.
CONCLUSION. Allergic rhinitis represents a significant risk factor for becoming asthmatic, whether in childhood, adolescence or adulthood. Atopic dermatitis and food allergy are also frequent conditions during adolescence. Pollen-associated FA constitutes an important part of the food allergy. Furthermore, food allergy may be the leading trigger for anaphylaxis. Common associations/comorbidities of atopic dermatitis reported are other atopic conditions such as food allergies, asthma and allergic rhinitis/rhinoconjunctivitis.
