Association between IgE levels and asthma severity among African American, Mexican, and Puerto Rican patients with asthma

Mariam Naqvi, Shweta Choudhry, Hui Ju Tsai, Shannon Thyne, Daniel Navarro, Sylvette Nazario, Jose R. Rodriguez-Santana, Jesus Casal, Alfonso Torres, Rocio Chapela, H. Geoffrey Watson, Kelley Meade, William Rodriguez-Cintron, Michael LeNoir, Pedro C. Avila, Esteban González Burchard*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: High levels of IgE are associated with asthma. Whether higher levels of IgE are associated with more severe asthma is still unclear. Objective: To determine whether IgE is associated with asthma severity among Latino and African American subjects with asthma. Methods: We assessed lung function and asthma severity among African American, Mexican, and Puerto Rican patients with asthma with high IgE levels (≥100 IU/mL; n = 492) and compared these values to those of patients with asthma with low IgE levels (<100 IU/mL; n = 247). We also examined IgE as a continuous variable among these groups. Results: Patients with asthma with high IgE had a lower mean FEV1 (87.6 ± 17.1, percent of predicted) than patients with asthma with low IgE (91.5 ± 17.0; P = .031). Regardless of race and ethnicity, baseline FEV1, forced expiratory flow, and FEV1/forced vital capacity were lower among subjects with high IgE than among subjects with low IgE (P = .031, P < .0001, P = .0001, respectively). In addition, 54.7% of patients with asthma with high IgE had been previously hospitalized, compared with 44.1% of patients with asthma with low IgE (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.04-1.71). Conclusion: Higher IgE is associated with lower baseline lung function and more severe asthma among these populations. Clinical implications: Among patients with asthma from 3 ethnically distinct groups, total IgE levels are inversely correlated with baseline lung function and asthma severity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)137-143
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume120
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2007

Keywords

  • African Americans
  • Asthma
  • IgE
  • Mexicans
  • Puerto Ricans
  • allergy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology

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