TOPLINE

Percent African ancestry (PAA) was associated with an increased risk for asthma and allergen sensitization at 10 years of age among Black children.

METHODOLOGY

• Using data from a birth cohort, researchers examined the extent to which African genetic ancestry contributes to allergy-related outcomes in 345 Black, non-Hispanic/non-Arabic children identified on the basis of maternal report of race. The children had a mean age of 10.2 years at the 10-year visit, and 46.7% were girls.
• They estimated genome-wide PAA using 493 ancestry-informative markers, which are DNA markers based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (small variations in DNA that help estimate a person’s ancestral origins).
• Researchers assessed total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels from birth to 10 years of age; allergic sensitization to 10 allergens (comprising seven airborne and three food allergens); doctor-diagnosed conditions such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and food allergy, and lung function measured by spirometry at 10 years of age.

TAKEAWAY

• Each 10-percentage point increase in PAA was linked to a 68% increased risk for asthma at 10 years of age (relative risk [RR], 1.68; P = .007) and a 30% increased risk for sensitization to at least one allergen (RR, 1.30; P = .019).
• Researchers also found a possible link between higher PAA and lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second, but the association was not statistically significant.
• For airborne allergens specifically, each 10-percentage point increase in PAA was linked to a 31% increased risk for aeroallergen sensitization (RR, 1.31; P = .032) at 10 years of age. Higher PAA was also associated with a greater chance of having two or more sensitizations.
• The adjusted model suggested a 17% increase in total IgE levels over time for each 10% increase in PAA, but this association was not statistically significant. Overall, no evidence of an association between PAA and the total IgE trajectory over time was found.

IN PRACTICE

“These findings emphasize the need for a nuanced understanding of asthma and allergy risk in diverse populations. The increased risk among individuals with greater African ancestry may reflect both underlying biological susceptibilities and disproportionate exposure to adverse environmental and structural factors,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE

Kelsey A. Finkel, MD, with the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the corresponding author of the study, which was published online on July 3 in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

LIMITATIONS

Robust statistical methods were used to estimate ancestry and adjust for measured confounders. However, some unmeasured or residual confounding may remain. Moreover, failure to fully account for complex admixture patterns in populations of African descent may have introduced bias.

DISCLOSURES

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Fund for Henry Ford Hospital. The authors declared having no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.