The prevalence of allergic diseases is rapidly increasing among the global population, affecting 10%-40% of people worldwide. Allergic diseases often begin in childhood. So far, data for analyzing the trends in the incidence of pediatric allergic diseases in China over the past decade are scant. This study aims to provide an epidemiological support for the prevention and management of pediatric allergic diseases in China by mining electronic medical record data from a single-center institution.

To analyze the annual proportion and trend of outpatient visits for allergic diseases among children aged 0-18 years in the Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University from 2014 to 2021.

A retrospective analysis of outpatient electronic medical records from the hospital information system of Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University from 2014 to 2021 was conducted to examine the annual proportional composition and changes in the trend changes of allergic diseases. The gender- and age-based proportions of different allergic diseases including eczema, urticaria, allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, allergic cough, allergic conjunctivitis, food allergies, drug allergies, pollen allergy, and anaphylaxis were calculated. The trend of changes in the proportion of allergic diseases with stable annual composition ranking in the top 10 was further analyzed.

From 2014 to 2021, there were a total of 1 231 890 outpatient visits for pediatric allergic diseases in our center. After excluding missing data, a total of 1 231 863 eligible cases were included, involving 727 082 (59.0%) boys and 504 781 (41.0%) girls. The majority of children visited for allergic diseases were under the age of 3 years (46.9%). Non-IgE mediated allergic diseases, such as henoch-schoenlein purpura, bronchitis, and respiratory tract infections were excluded, and the remaining 1 208 265 cases included in the disease spectrum analysis. From 2016 to 2021, the proportion of outpatient visits for pediatric allergic diseases in Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University showed an upward trend. From 2014 to 2017, the top 5 allergic diseases visited in the outpatient department were eczema, urticaria, allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and allergic cough. From 2018 to 2021, allergic rhinitis, eczema, urticaria, allergic conjunctivitis, and bronchial asthma ranked the top 5. The trend analysis for an annual proportion of pediatric allergic diseases showed that the ratios of allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and food allergies among all allergic diseases from 2014 to 2021 showed an increasing trend, with peak ratios of 45.4%, 11.1% and 2.8%, respectively. The ratios of urticaria, eczema, and bronchial asthma showed a decreasing trend, with peak ratios of 46.5%, 24.9% and 11.3%, respectively.

From 2016 to 2021, the proportion of outpatient visits for pediatric allergic diseases in Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University showed an upward trend. Between 2014 and 2021, the annual proportions of allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and food allergies exhibited an increasing trend, while the annual proportions of eczema, urticaria, and bronchial asthma demonstrated a decreasing trend.