The following is a summary of “IgE to common food allergens is associated with cardiovascular mortality in the National Health and Examination Survey and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis,” published in the February 2024 issue of Allergy & Immunology by Keet, et al.
While food-specific IgE is typically considered clinically insignificant in individuals without symptomatic food allergies, recent evidence suggested that sensitization to galactose-α-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal) IgE may be linked to cardiovascular (CV) disease. For a study, researchers sought to investigate whether sensitization to common food allergens is associated with CV mortality.
The association between IgE sensitization to foods and CV mortality was assessed using data from the National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2006 and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort at the Wake Forest site. MESA enrolled adults without baseline clinical CV diseases between 2000 and 2002. Total and specific IgE levels were measured for various food allergens in both cohorts. Cox proportional hazard models were utilized, adjusting for relevant covariates.
The study included 4,414 adults from NHANES (with 229 CV deaths) and 960 from MESA (with 56 CV deaths). In NHANES, sensitization to at least one food allergen was associated with a higher risk of CV mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.7 [95% CI, 1.2-2.4], P = .005). Milk sensitization showed a particularly strong association (HR, 2.0 [95% CI, 1.1-3.8], P = .026), which was replicated in the MESA cohort (HR, 3.8 [95% CI, 1.6-9.1], P = .003). Further analysis in NHANES revealed that among consumers of relevant allergens, shrimp and peanut sensitization were additional risk factors for CV mortality.
The study’s findings challenged the conventional belief that sensitization to food allergens without clinical allergy symptoms is harmless. Sensitization to food allergens, particularly milk, appears to be associated with an increased risk of CV mortality. Further research was warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of this association.
Reference: jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(23)01251-4/abstract