The Age Impact on Serum Total and Allergen-Specific IgE

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Abstract

Aging is accompanied by a progressive decline in almost all functions of the immune system. To investigate a possible impact of age on IgE production, this study evaluated total and allergen-specific serum IgE levels in a large cohort of allergic patients. This study included 6,370 allergic patients (2,961 females, 3,409 males; mean age, 21.7 years; age range, 0-96 years). Total and allergen-specific serum IgE levels were measured by immunoenzymatic assay. The analysis of variance showed a significant difference in the mean value of total IgE among the different age groups of patients. Moreover, specific IgE levels for all allergens examined differed significantly among the age groups of patients, with a specific trend pattern for each allergen. Total IgE increased with age, but allergen-specific IgE levels significantly decreased with age, with a trend specific for each allergen tested.

Keywords: Age, allergy, serum, specific IgE and total IgE

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Articles from Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research are provided here courtesy of Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease

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May 9, 2013