Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Vol 152, No. 4, Oct 1995, 1158-1163.
Serum house-dust-mite antibodies and reduced FEV1 in adults of a Norwegian community
E Omenaas, P Bakke, GE Eide, S Elsayed and A Gulsvik
Department of Thoracic Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway.
In this cross-sectional study we investigated whether the presence of
specific serum IgE antibodies to house dust mite, timothy, birch, cat, and
mold was associated with a reduced FEV1 in adults. We performed complete
examinations on 82% of a stratified random sample of 18 to 73- yr-old
adults (n = 1,239). Subjects with house-dust-mite antibodies had lower (p =
0.002) sex, age, and height standardized residuals of FEV1 (SFEV1) than
those without any specific IgE antibody. This relationship did not differ
significantly by sex, age, smoking habit, total serum IgE level, or season,
and remained significant after excluding subjects with obstructive lung
disease. For house-dust-mite antibodies we also observed a dose-response
relationship between antibody levels and impaired lung function. In a final
multiple linear regression analysis the presence of house-dust-mite
antibodies was the only significant predictor (regression coefficient:
-0.425; SE = 0.189; p = 0.02) of reduced SFEV1 after adjusting for smoking
habit and lifetime tobacco consumption, season, total serum IgE level, and
respiratory-symptom and disease status. Thus, house-dust-mite allergy is an
independent predictor of reduced lung function in adults of a wide age
range.
