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Allergic sensitization decreases as people age

The prevalence of allergic sensitization to any allergen decreased as the age of the population increased, according to study results.

Allergic rhinitis decreased significantly as the population aged, however the same did not occur in participants with asthma, according to researchers.

Katja Warm, MD, from the department of public health and clinical medicine at Umeå University in Sweden, and colleagues collected a random population sample to analyze the prevalence and impact of specific sensitization to airborne allergens on asthma and allergic rhinitis among adults in relation to age.

The analysis included 737 participants aged 21 to 86 years who participated in a structured interview and provided blood sampling for specific and total immunoglobulin-E (IgE) levels (n = 692).

Researchers identified a participant as positive for allergic sensitization if the participant had an IgE level of 0.35 IU/mL or more to a specific allergen.

Sensitization to any allergen decreased as participants aged. Forty-five percent of the participants aged 21 to 40 years (n = 154) had a sensitization to any allergen. The prevalence dropped to 14.8% in participants aged 61 to 86 years (n = 243) (P < .001).

As participants grew older, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis also decreased significantly. Approximately 39% of participants (n = 171) self-reported ever allergic rhinitis at the ages of 21 to 40. That prevalence decreased significantly in patients aged 61 to 86 years (n =251) (21.5%) (P < .001).

The prevalence of current asthma minimally decreased between participants aged 21 to 40 years (15.5%) and participants aged 61 to 86 years (13.3%) (P = .52).

Participants with asthma also appeared to have a decrease in sensitization to any allergen as they aged. Approximately 22% of participants (n = 32) with asthma aged 61 to 86 years had a sensitization to at least one allergen, whereas 68% of participants aged 21 to 40 years (n = 25) had sensitization (P < .001).

More research is needed on the topic of allergic sensitization as the population of elderly continues to grow, according to the researchers.

“As the prevalence of allergic sensitization has increased in the general population, and because the population of elderly is increasing, longitudinal studies focused on the impact of early allergic sensitization on morbidity in the elderly are needed,” the researchers wrote. – by Ryan McDonald

Disclosure: Warm reports receiving research support from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.