Monitoring pollinosis and airborne pollen in a Rome university

Pollen allergies and airborne pollen were monitored at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" in 1999 in order to determine the concentration and the quality of airborne pollen belonging to allergenic plants in relationship to the prevalence of pollen allergies. Airborne pollen was monitored by volumetric trap while data on allergies were collected through a questionnaire distributed to the University personnel belonging to various working categories. Meteorological data were obtained through a daily monitoring carried out by a meteorological station while plant anthesis identification was done at the Herbarium of the University. Results indicated that prevalent allergies were due to Gramineae, Urticaceae and Oleaceae pollen. Many subjects suffering from allergies did not know the responsible allergen(s) and more than half of the allergic subjects stated to have allergic relatives. Data on pollen monitoring and prevalence of allergies, collected in the same geographical area, were found to be in accordance with each other, with the exception of the case of Cupressaceae/Taxaceae plants, whose pollen was found in high concentration although no case of allergy due to this pollen was established.