title: Airway hyperresponsiveness is associated with total serum immunoglobulin E and sensitization to aeroallergens in Korean adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Allergen sensitization and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) are the most important characteristics of bronchial asthma and their correlation has been speculated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We attempted to investigate the relationship between sensitization to allergens and AHR to methacholine in Korean high school students.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire survey, methacholine bronchial provocation tests, and skin-prick tests for 16 major allergens were performed on 724 students. The mean age of participants was 15.79 ± 0.40 years old. Serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and the fraction of blood eosinophils were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AHR (PC(20) < 16 mg/ml) was present in 12.3%. Log total IgE was higher in AHR-positive group than negative group (4.22 ± 1.55, 3.70 ± 1.33, P = 0.001). Three hundred eighty-four students (53.0%) were sensitized to more than one allergen, and among them Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p, 295 students, 40.7%) and Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f, 301 students, 41.6%) were most common. The risk of AHR development was high in the group who had sensitization to one allergen (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-3.44, P = 0.018) and to more than two allergens (aOR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.32-6.57, P = 0.009). Among the specific allergens, AHR was developed in those who were sensitized to Der f (aOR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.04-2.86, P = 0.033), dog dander (aOR = 3.97, 95% CI: 1.67-9.51, P = 0.002), and Alternaria (aOR = 3.19, 95% CI: 1.24-6.41, P = 0.016). In the groups with high IgE (>300 IU/ml) and high eosinophil fraction (>4%), AHR was more developed than groups who were low in each (aOR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.15-6.51, P = 0.023; aOR = 10.82, 95% CI: 3.33-35.08, P = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The risk of AHR development was closely linked with allergen sensitization itself, and the number or types of sensitized allergens such as indoor and fungal allergens in Korean young adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Childhood Asthma Atopy Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bong-Seong
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyun-Seung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Hyo-Bin
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: So-Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ja-Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ji-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Byoung-Ju
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jinho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Sunmi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Soo-Jong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001985:Bronchial Provocation Tests; D016085:Bronchoconstrictor Agents; D002452:Cell Count; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D016210:Methacholine Chloride; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012882:Skin Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D016085:Bronchoconstrictor Agents; D016210:Methacholine Chloride; D007073:Immunoglobulin E