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. 2020 May 25:10:15.
doi: 10.1186/s13601-020-00319-w. eCollection 2020.

Male sex is strongly associated with IgE-sensitization to airborne but not food allergens: results up to age 24 years from the BAMSE birth cohort

Erik Melén  1   2   3 , Anna Bergström  2   4 , Inger Kull  1   3 , Catarina Almqvist  5   6 , Niklas Andersson  2 , Anna Asarnoj  5   7   8 , Magnus P Borres  9 , Antonis Georgellis  2   4 , Göran Pershagen  2   4 , Marit Westman  7 , Marianne van Hage  7 , Natalia Ballardini  1   2   3
Affiliations

Male sex is strongly associated with IgE-sensitization to airborne but not food allergens: results up to age 24 years from the BAMSE birth cohort

Erik Melén et al. Clin Transl Allergy. .

Abstract

Background: Up to half of the population in high-income countries has allergen-specific IgE antibodies. However, data regarding sex differences of IgE-sensitization from childhood to adulthood is limited.

Objective: To explore IgE-sensitization to common foods and airborne allergens in relation to sex over time in a population-based cohort followed up to young adulthood.

Methods: The Swedish population-based birth cohort BAMSE includes 4089 subjects who have been followed regularly with questionnaires and clinical investigations. A recent 24-year follow-up included 3069 participants (75%). Sera collected at 4, 8, 16 and 24 years were analyzed for IgE-antibodies to 14 common foods and airborne allergens.

Results: At 24 years sensitization to foods had decreased compared to previous follow-ups affecting 8.4%, while sensitization to airborne allergens was more common, affecting 42.2%. Male sex was associated with IgE-sensitization to airborne allergens at all ages (overall OR: 1.68, 95% CI 1.46-1.94) while there was no statistically significant association between sex and sensitization to food allergens (overall OR: 1.10, 95% CI 0.93-1.32). Levels of allergen-specific IgE did not differ significantly between males and females for any of the tested foods or airborne allergens at any age, following adjustment for multiple comparisons.

Conclusion: IgE-sensitization to airborne allergens increases with age up to young adulthood, whereas sensitization to food allergens seems to level off. Male sex is strongly associated with IgE-sensitization to airborne allergens from early childhood up to young adulthood. In contrast, there is little evidence for associations between sex and IgE-sensitization to foods.

Keywords: Allergen; BAMSE; Birth cohort; Immunoglobulin E; Prevalence; Sensitization.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsEM has received lecture fees from Novartis, Sanofi and Thermo Fisher Scientific outside the submitted work. MvH has received lecture fees from Thermo Fisher Scientific and ALK; and consultancy fees from Biomay AG, Vienna, Austria and Hycor Biomedical LLC, CA, US, outside the submitted work. Dr. Westman reports personal fees from ALK (consultancy fees), outside the submitted work. The other authors report no competing interests relevant to this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of the current study and study-populations used for included analyses
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Prevalence of IgE-sensitization to food* and airborne** allergens at ages 4, 8, 16 and 24 years in the population-based cohort BAMSE. *Peanut, soy, wheat, milk, egg and cod. **Timothy, birch, cat, dog, house dust mites, mugwort, horse and Cladosporium herbarum
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Proportions of individuals with sIgE-sensitization at the 24-year follow-up in the population-based birth cohort BAMSE (n = 2234). Timothy n = 594, birch n = 541, cat n = 438, dog n = 379, mites n = 290, mugwort n = 221, horse n = 219, mold n = 30, peanut n = 138, soy n = 98, wheat n = 82, milk n = 44, egg n = 42, cod n = 7
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Impact of male sex on IgE-sensitization up to age 24 years in the BAMSE cohort. GEE analyses include individuals with complete data on IgE-sensitization from at least two follow-ups, 1430 males and 1473 females (reference group)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Proportions of females and males with sensitization (IgE ≥ 0.35 kUA/l) to specific foods and airborne allergens at ages 4 years (n = 2604), 8 years (n = 2446), 16 years (n = 2547) and 24 years (n = 2234), in the BAMSE birth cohort. * Statistical significant difference, based on Bonferroni correction (p ≤ 0.004)
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