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. 2016 Mar;116(3):212-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2016.01.006.

Allergic sensitization patterns identified through latent class analysis among children with and without asthma

Qixuan Chen  1 , Xiaobo Zhong  2 , Luis Acosta  3 , Adnan Divjan  3 , Andrew Rundle  4 , Inge F Goldstein  4 , Rachel L Miller  5 , Matthew S Perzanowski  3
Affiliations

Allergic sensitization patterns identified through latent class analysis among children with and without asthma

Qixuan Chen et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2016 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Specific patterns of allergic sensitization to common allergens may provide relevant clinical insight into asthma risk.

Objective: To identify patterns of allergic sensitization based on multiple individual allergens and link these to current and persistent asthma using baseline and 3-year follow-up data.

Methods: Children 7 to 8 years old with (n = 196) and without (n = 136) asthma from the New York City Neighborhood Asthma and Allergy Study were studied. IgE against a panel of 112 antigens was measured using the ISAC multiplex panel array. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify patterns of allergic sensitization among the 26 most common allergens against which children had measurable IgE. The association between patterns of allergic sensitization and risk of asthma and other allergic diseases was examined.

Results: LCA identified 4 patterns of allergic sensitization as follows: low risk of sensitization (prevalence of 53% in children with asthma and 76% in children without asthma), indoor (prevalence of 23% in children with asthma and 15% in children without asthma), pollen and indoor group 1 (prevalence of 16% in children with asthma and 5% in children without asthma), and pollen and indoor group 2 (prevalence of 9% in children with asthma and 4% in children without asthma). Compared with the low risk of sensitization pattern, children belonging to the 3 sensitized patterns had significantly higher risk of asthma at ages 7 to 8 years and 3 years later, with the highest risk for children in the pollen and indoor group 1 pattern.

Conclusions: LCA facilitates the study of sensitization profiles to a large number of common allergens. Analyzing patterns of allergic sensitization from multiple allergens reveals additional relevant associations with asthma than the study of a single allergen or total IgE.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patterns of sensitization estimated using a 4-class Latent Class Analysis model with the data of the 26 most common allergenic proteins in the sample (n = 332).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Odds ratio estimates and 95% CIs examining the associations of health history, mother’s asthma, and the house dust mite allergen level with the patterns of sensitization.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Odds ratio estimates and 95% CIs of asthma and other allergic diseases comparing children in each of the sensitization patterns to those who had low risk of sensitization to any of the 26 most common allergens, adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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