[Analysis of allergen sensitization profile in children at a hospital in Suzhou City from 2022 to 2024].

To systematically characterize the allergen sensitization profile among children attending a tertiary hospital in Suzhou and to explore its associations with age, sex, and clinical disease phenotypes, thereby providing regional evidence for precision prevention and control strategies. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted involving 3 374 children aged 0-18 years who attended the Department of Pediatrics of Suzhou Municipal Hospital from November 2022 to May 2024. Participants were stratified into three age groups: infants (0<age≤6 years), school-age children (6<age≤12 years), and adolescents (12<age≤18 years). Serum-specific IgE (sIgE) levels against 25 allergens (13 inhalational and 12 food allergens) were measured using a fluorescent magnetic particle chemiluminescence immunoassay. Statistical analyses were performed using chi-square and rank-sum tests (α=0.05). The results showed that the overall sensitization rate to inhalational allergens was significantly higher than that to food allergens (62.25%, 1 593/2 559 vs. 38.49%, 657/1 707), and 32.32% (318/984) of children exhibited cross-sensitization. Dermatophagoides farinae (53.21%, 1 268/2 383), Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (52.02%, 1 247/2 397), and Alternaria alternata (31.86%, 540/1 695) were the predominant inhalational allergens, while egg white (34.07%, 495/1 453) and milk (19.64%, 284/1 446) were the most common food allergens. Males showed significantly higher sensitization rates than females to D. pteronyssinus (χ²=14.92, P<0.001), D. farinae (χ²=11.21, P<0.01), Alternaria alternata (χ²=7.54, P<0.01), and milk (χ²=6.15, P<0.05). Marked age-dependent trends were observed. Food allergen sensitization predominated in infancy, with egg white sensitization reaching 47% (425/904), whereas sensitization to inhalational allergens increased with age, as exemplified by D. farinae, which rose from 43% (447/1 039) in infants to 62% (180/290) in adolescents. In contrast, food allergen sensitization declined markedly, with egg white sensitization decreasing to 6.8% (8/118). Distinct disease-specific patterns were also identified. Dust mite sensitization was significantly higher in children with asthma than in controls (χ²=43.12、49.57, P<0.01). Children with asthma showed elevated sensitization to cat dander (39.13%, 27/69) and Aspergillus fumigatus (12.75%, 102/800). The skin allergy group was strongly associated with food allergens, particularly egg white (46.06%, 234/508) and sesame (12.00%, 24/200), whereas the food allergy group demonstrated prominent sensitization to milk (44.64%, 25/56) and beef (20.59%, 7/34). In conclusion, the sensitization characteristics of allergens in children treated at Suzhou Municipal Hospital from 2022 to 2024 exhibit three key features: environmental predominance (dominated by dust mites and molds), age dependency (food allergens predominating in infancy and inhalational allergens in later childhood), and disease specificity (respiratory diseases linked to dust mites and skin allergies associated with food allergens).