Relationship of serum cholesterol levels to atopy in the US population.
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.


OBJECTIVE
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 > or =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 > or =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.
Fessler
M B
MB
Laboratory of Respiratory Biology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. fesslerm@niehs.nih.gov
Jaramillo
R
R
Crockett
P W
PW
Zeldin
D C
DC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D002648:Child; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D002784:Cholesterol