Mould and grass pollen allergy as risk factors for childhood asthma in Zaragoza, Spain.

Objective: Examine the prevalence of asthma and associated predictive factors in a group of 468 students.

Patients And Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional observational study in a randomly selected population of 468 children aged 10-12, in the city of Zaragoza. We used the ISAAC questionnaire on asthma completed by children under supervision of the investigators.

Assessing degree of flowering implicates multiple Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae species in allergy.

Background: IgE-mediated sensitization to the Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae families is a cause of allergic symptoms in arid areas. Salsola kali and Chenopodium album are considered the main species responsible; however, there is a discrepancy between the pollination period of these two plants and clinical symptoms. The objectives of this study were to identify new Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae members with sensitization capacity and to correlate symptoms, pollen counts and degree of flowering of different species.