title: Eosinophilia and positive skin tests predict cardiovascular mortality in a general population sample followed for 30 years.
abstract: The authors investigated whether two objective allergy markers, peripheral blood eosinophilia and skin tests for common aeroallergens, were associated with cardiovascular death. Of 5,382 subjects in the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen Study (the Netherlands) with data on allergy markers in 1965-1972, 507 subjects died from cardiovascular disease during 30 years of follow-up. Subjects with eosinophilia had an increased risk of cardiovascular death (relative risk (RR) = 1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4, 2.2), including ischemic heart disease death (RR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2, 2.2) and cerebrovascular death (RR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.4, 3.8), independent of major risk factors. This association was limited to subjects with a percentage of the predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 % predicted) of <100%. Positive skin tests were associated with a significantly reduced cardiovascular mortality in subjects with normal lung function and weight who did not smoke (RR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.46). Conversely, when subjects with positive skin tests had a body mass index of > or =25 kg/m2, had an FEV1 % predicted of <80%, or smoked, they had an increased risk for cardiovascular mortality. These results were not restricted to asthmatics. Our data suggest a possible link between eosinophilia and positive skin tests and cardiovascular mortality, especially in combination with other risk factors associated with its mortality.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Epidemiology and Statistics, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hospers
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rijcken
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Schouten
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Postma
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D015415:Biomarkers; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D004802:Eosinophilia; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers