Atopic Disease and Anemia in Korean Patients: Cross-Sectional Study with Propensity Score Analysis

Abstract

Atopic disease is associated with chronic inflammation, and anemia has been reported in patients with inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and irritable bowel disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether atopic disease is associated with an increased risk of anemia. A cross-sectional study with propensity score weighting was conducted using a health insurance review agency claims dataset comprised of randomized patients who used the Korean national health system at least once in 2016. The association between atopic disease (asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis) and anemia (iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and/or anemia of inflammation (AI)) was examined. A total of 1,468,033 patients were included in this study. The IDA/AI prevalence was 3.1% (45,681 patients). After propensity score weighting, there were 46,958 and 45,681 patients in the non-anemic and anemic groups, respectively. The prevalence of IDA/AI in patients with atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, or asthma had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.40 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.33–1.48; p < 0.001), 1.17 (95% CI, 1.14–1.21; p < 0.001), and 1.32 (95% CI, 1.28–1.36; p < 0.001), respectively. In addition, the prevalence of IDA increased with higher numbers of atopic diseases. In conclusion, the prevalence of IDA/AI was higher in patients with atopic disease, even after adjusting for demographic characteristics and other risk factors. Further study is needed to distinguish between IDA and AI and to enhance understanding of the etiology of anemia in patients with inflammatory conditions.

Long-term benefits of targeted micronutrition with the holoBLG lozenge in house dust mite allergic patients

“…The concept of targeted micronutrition to correct micronutritional deficiencies in immune cells of allergic patients, the main attribute of mode-of-action of loaded beta-lactoglobulin (holoBLG), has been unravelled only recently [3][4][5][6]. There are multiple studies showing that atopy is associated with iron deficiencies [7][8][9][10][11] and/or vitamin deficiencies [12][13][14][15]. These deficiencies turn the immune system into a hyperreactive state, contributing to the atopic state [8,15].…”

Prevalence of Anemia in Pediatric Patients According to Asthma Control: Propensity Score Analysis

“…In this group, the association between asthma prevalence and anemia was not revealed. 24 This, as in the previous study, may also be a result of different patterns of use of medical service in the patients under medical aid program.…”

“…In a previous study, the correlation between asthma and anemia in children was more pronounced than in adults and elderly patients. 24 This led us to consider the association between atopic disease and AI in pediatric patients in a clinical setting. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate whether the prevalence of anemia in pediatric asthma patients differed according to asthma control.…”

Micronutritional supplementation with a holoBLG‐based FSMP (food for special medical purposes)‐lozenge alleviates allergic symptoms in BALB/c mice: Imitating the protective farm effect

“…Particularly, the provision of iron seems pivotal in modulating an immune response. The iron status deeply affects immunity, with iron deficiency known to cause immune hyperactivity [49][50] prone initially towards Th2 [51][52][53] and being associated with atopic dermatitis, 54 allergic rhinitis 55,56 and asthma. [57][58][59][60][61] In contrast, in iron sated conditions, immune cells seem to shift towards a more resilient state with macrophages polarizing towards an anti-inflammatory M2 subtype in vivo and in vitro, 62 antigen presentation being decreased, 23,63 CD4+ counts 64 and to a lesser extent CD8+ cells being negatively affected.…”