Objective: Specific and nonspecific environmental factors as well as genetic tendency plays role in development of allergic diseases that are the most common chronic disease group in developed countries. The aim of this study was to determine the allergen sensitivity and frequency of allergic diseases in parents of children detected to have allergen sensitivity and an allergic disease.

Materials and Methods: Thirty one children aged 8-18 years, diagnosed with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis or asthma and detected to have sensitivity to inhalant allergens on skin prick test (SPT) and their parents were enrolled in this study. SPT results and total immunoglobulin E levels of the children were recorded. Skin prick test with inhalant allergens were applied to the mothers and fathers.

Results: Evaluation of SPT revealed positive results in 14 mothers (45.2%) and negative results in 17 mothers (54.8%). Among the fathers, 17 (54.8%) had negative and 14 (45.2%) had positive SPT results. Sensitized allergen type in children did not influence the skin prick test positivity in mothers and fathers significantly (p= 0.88 and p= 0.68 respectively).Conclusion: Skin allergen sensitivity is common in parents of allergic children irrespective of clinical findings. This difference between clinical and allergic sensitization may be attributed to environmental factors. The results of this study indicated that allergen type that the child is sensitized to does not influence the sensitization frequency in parents.