title: Relationships between total and allergen-specific serum IgE concentrations and lung function in young adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prior studies have shown relationships between serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and asthma.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate relationships between total and allergen-specific IgE concentrations and lung function in young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Measurements of total IgE, allergen-specific IgE to 6 common allergens, and spirometry (forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV(1)], forced vital capacity [FVC], FEV(1)/FVC, and percent change in FEV(1) after bronchodilation) were used to calculate correlations between the logarithmically transformed IgE values and measures of lung function among participants in a birth cohort not selected for risk of allergic disease stratified by current asthma, prior asthma, or no asthma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 428 participants were 51.6% female, 93% white, and 18.4 (standard deviation = 0.6) years old. Forty-eight (11.2%) had current asthma, 55 (12.9%) had a history of asthma, and 325 (75.9%) never had asthma. For males with current asthma, correlations between total IgE and FEV(1)% and FVC% were -0.51 (P = .06) and -0.70 (P = .005), respectively. For females with current asthma, the only significant correlation was between total IgE and the FEV(1)/FVC ratio (-0.55, P = .001). After excluding smokers and individuals without detectable allergen-specific IgE, the negative correlations for both males and females remained statistically significant. The correlations among males or females with prior asthma or no history of asthma were minimal and not statistically significant. The sum of the allergen-specific IgEs showed the same pattern of relationships to lung function as did total IgE.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show significant negative correlations that vary by gender between both total and allergen-specific IgE and measurements of lung function in young adults with current asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Georgia Health Sciences University, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
authors.forename: Chathruckan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rajendra
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zoratti
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Havstad
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.forename: Ganesa
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wegienka
authors.forename: M Todd
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ownby
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013147:Spirometry; D014481:United States; D014797:Vital Capacity; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E