Is Body Mass Index Related to Skin Reactivity to Histamine but not to Specific Allergens? A 2-Year Follow-up Study on Korean Children

Abstract

Background Skin prick tests are widely used to diagnose allergic sensitization. The influence of obesity on the skin prick test result has not been clearly established, even though the association between allergic disease and obesity is relatively well known. Objective To determine whether a change in body mass index (BMI) contributes to skin reactivity to histamine and allergens in a skin prick test, we performed a 2-year follow-up study on Korean children. Methods Skin prick tests for common aeroallergens were performed on elementary school students from Jeju Island, Korea. BMI was calculated using weight and height after measuring both, and demographic characteristics were surveyed. The same tests were repeated after 2 years. Results The sensitization rate increased during the 2 years between tests and the children’s mean BMI also increased, along with their age. The wheal sizes induced by Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, Japanese cedar, and histamine were significantly increased during 2 years; however, only the histamine reaction associated with increased BMI had statistical significance. Furthermore, other variables—including the number of sensitized allergens—were not related to histamine skin reactivity. Conclusion Histamine skin reactivity increased in children over time and some allergens showed increased specific reactions; however, BMI gain is a specific predictor of histamine reactivity. Further studies are needed to elucidate the clinical significance of these changes.

High Body Mass Index with the Risk of Allergic Conjunctivitis in Children: A Case-Control Study in Southwest China

“…Histamine is the main proin ammatory mediator that accounts for at least half of the signs and symptoms of AC [29]. Clinical studies have found that an increased histamine reaction is associated with increased BMI [27,30]. Furthermore, obesity may enhance in ammation in AR and BA [31,32].…”

“…The increase in the number of obese children has coincided with an increase in the incidence of allergies, which clinically manifest as chronic respiratory diseases (asthma, AR, AD) [25]. Many prospective studies have veri ed that obesity/high BMI is a risk factor for the development of atopic allergic diseases, such as AD, AR and BA [26,27]. However, there are few reports on the relationship between BMI and AC incidence.…”

Reflecting on the Work of the Giants That Come Before You

“…6 It is incredible to think that over the past 30 years, the safety of general anesthesia has increased almost 60-fold, and Levi et al, examine whether pushing the age boundaries of elective anesthesia for endoscopic sinus surgery aligns with that trend-a point of importance for the large segment of our aging population. 7 It is also curious to see how comorbidities affect nonsurgical outcomes as Suh et al, examines BMI as it relates to histamine response 8 , and Amarbir et al, examine the functional comorbidity index and its relation to chronic rhinosinusitis. 9 Similarly incredible is the revolution biological therapies and immunomodulators have created in the treatment of sinusitis, asthma, and other ectopic diseases.…”