Increased Skin Reactivity to Histamine along with an Increase of Body Mass Index in Korean Children: 2 Years Follow Up Study

Background: A skin prick test is the most widely used test to diagnose allergic diseases. However, it is not known much about the effect of the body mass index on skin reactivity. Therefore, we aim to investigate the changes in skin reactivity to histamine and allergens according to the changes in body mass index (BMI) in Korean children.

Methods: The data of 230 children were used in this analysis. And, the data were collected in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Skin prick test was performed for 26 aeroallergens and other variables were obtained, including sex, age, BMI, parental allergy history, and parental smoking. Multivariate analysis was used to confirm the association between the changes in skin reactivity and body mass index.

Results: Mean size of skin wheal induced histamine and BMI were increased for two years. Changes in skin wheal induced by histamine showed significant correlation with changes in BMI (Spearman’s Rho=0.209, P-value < 0.001). However, changes in the size of the skin response to Dermatophagoides farinae (Df) and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp) did not correlate with changes in BMI.

Conclusion : The magnitude of skin response to histamine was correlated with an increase in body mass index. However, the wheal size for Df and Dp was not related to the change in the BMI. The effects of BMI on the interpretation of skin prick test should be considered.