Background: It has been suggested that exposure to elevated levels of endotoxin decreases the risk of allergic sensitization.
Objective: To examine the associations between current exposure to bacterial endotoxin in house dust and allergic sensitization in adults.
Methods: In 1995-1996, we conducted a nested case-control study following a cross-sectional study performed within the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). Data of 350 adults aged 25-50 years was analysed. Allergic sensitization was assessed by measurement of specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) against several inhalant allergens. Living room floor dust samples were taken. The endotoxin content was quantified using a chromogenic kinetic Limulus amoebocyte lysate test.
Results: Multiple logistic regression analysis showed a negative association between exposure to house dust endotoxin and severe allergic sensitization. Odds ratios (95% CI) adjusted for place of residence, gender, age, and 'caseness' were 0.80 (0.64-1.00) for sensitization to >/=1 allergen and 0.72 (0.56, 0.92) for sensitization to >/=2 allergens using 3.5 kU/l as a cut-off value for sensitization. With regard to single allergens, the protective effect of endotoxin was strongest for pollen sensitization [aOR (95% CI) = 0.74 (0.58, 0.93)].
Conclusion: Our results indicate that current exposure to higher levels of house dust endotoxin might be associated with a decreased odds of allergic sensitization in adults.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2004.00551.x | DOI Listing |
Front Allergy
January 2025
Laboratory for Clinical Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Golnik, Slovenia.
The basophil activation test (BAT) has become a major cellular test for evaluating the allergenic activity of specific IgEs. The impact of the BAT is due to the ability of blood basophil granulocytes to present IgE on the high-affinity FcRI receptor and to mirror the mast cell response that elicits an acute allergic reaction. The BAT proved to be able to identify allergic patients at risk of reacting to a low dose of the allergen and/or developing life-threatening reactions and thus can significantly improve the current management of allergic patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol
January 2025
Department of Pulmonology, Allergy and Thoracic Oncology, University Hospital of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
Purpose Of Review: Climate change influences working conditions in various ways, affecting employee health and safety across different sectors. Climatic factors like rising temperatures, increased UV radiation, and more frequent extreme weather events pose risks to in both indoor and outdoor workers. Allergic diseases of the respiratory tract and the skin may emerge due to climate change.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Int
January 2025
Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4102, Australia.
Allergies have become an important public health issue as their occurrence is reportedly on the rise around the world. Exposure to environmental factors is considered as trigger for allergic diseases. However, there was limited data on the importance of each factor, particularly in China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Allergy Clin Immunol
January 2025
Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Laboratory of Immunopathology, Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia; Karl Landsteiner University, Krems an der Donau, Austria; National Research Center, National Research Center Institute of Immunology (NRCI) Institute of Immunology, Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia (FMBA), Moscow, Russia.
Allergic patients are characterized by complex and patient-specific IgE sensitization profiles to various allergens, which are accompanied by different phenotypes of allergic disease. Molecular allergy (MA) diagnosis establishes the patient's IgE reactivity profile at a molecular allergen level and has moved allergology into the "Precision Medicine" era. Molecular allergology started in the late 1980s with the isolation of the first allergen-encoding DNA sequences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcotoxicol Environ Saf
January 2025
Department of Toxicology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China. Electronic address:
Increasing epidemiological evidence has proved that early-life exposure to inorganic arsenic (As) elevates the risks of childhood asthma. The present research aimed to explore susceptibility of respiratory As exposure to allergic asthma in a mouse model. BALB/c mice on postnatal day (PND) 28 were exposed to ddHO or NaAsO aerosol for 4 hours daily over 5 consecutive weeks via respiratory tract.
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