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Relationship of serum cholesterol levels to atopy in the US population
Author(s) -
Fessler M. B.,
Jaramillo R.,
Crockett P. W.,
Zeldin D. C.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.363
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1398-9995
pISSN - 0105-4538
DOI - 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2009.02287.x
Subject(s) - atopy , medicine , population , cholesterol , immunology , allergy , environmental health
To cite this article: Fessler MB, Jaramillo R, Crockett PW, Zeldin DC. Relationship of serum cholesterol levels to atopy in the US population. Allergy 2010; 65 : 859–864. Abstract Background: Cholesterol promotes Th2 immunity and allergic inflammation in rodents; whether this occurs in humans is unclear. Reports of both direct and inverse associations between serum cholesterol and atopy in different populations suggest that race and/or other demographic variables may modify these relationships. Aims of the study: To determine the relationships between levels of three serum cholesterol measures [total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C), and non‐HDL‐C] and atopy in a sample representative of the US population. Methods: Cross‐sectional study of 6854 participants aged ≥6 years from the 2005–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results: In the overall population, adjusted odds ratios (AORs) per two‐standard deviation increase in TC and non‐HDL‐C for biochemical atopy (defined as ≥1 allergen‐specific IgE to 19 allergens) were 1.17 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–1.38] and 1.19 (95% CI, 1.03–1.39), respectively. Interactions by race were noted for the two relationships (interaction P = 0.004 and P = 0.009, respectively) with non‐Hispanic Whites (NHWs) having direct relationships [TC: AOR 1.27 (95% CI, 1.03–1.57); non‐HDL‐C: AOR 1.27 (95% CI, 1.03–1.56)] and non‐Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) inverse relationships [TC: AOR 0.77 (95% CI, 0.62–0.95); non‐HDL‐C: AOR 0.86 (95% CI, 0.69–1.08)]. The adjusted HDL‐C–atopy relationship was nonsignificant for NHWs and inverse for NHBs [AOR 0.77 (95% CI, 0.61–0.96)]. Relationships were independent of body mass index and serum C‐reactive protein and unmodified by corticosteroid or statin usage. Results were similar using current hay fever/allergy as the atopy outcome. Conclusions: There are marked inter‐racial differences in the relationship between serum cholesterol and atopy in the US population.