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 ≥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. Am J Epidemiol 1999; 150: 482-91.
Users
Please
log in to take part in the discussion (add own reviews or comments).