TOPLINE

Adults with house dust mite-related allergic rhinitis and/or asthma experienced a decline in immunoglobulin E (IgE) sensitization to mite allergens over 20 years, which was associated with reduced symptoms. Such patterns were not seen in children with the condition.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers examined changes over 20 years in IgE sensitization to house dust mite molecular allergens and related outcomes in 51 patients with mite-related allergic rhinitis and/or asthma at a Portuguese clinic.
• They grouped patients as children (age < 11 years; n = 19), adolescents (age, 11 to < 18 years; n = 11), and adults (age ≥ 18 years; n = 21); the percentage of female patients ranged from 31.58% to 72.72% per group.
• Baseline visits occurred between 1997 and 2001, and participants were reevaluated about 20 years later. Archived and follow-up serum samples were analyzed for specific IgE against 17 mite molecular components using a microarray chip.
• Researchers assessed the number of positive IgE responses (sensitization count), allergen-specific IgE concentrations, and the status of rhinitis and asthma over 20 years.

TAKEAWAY

• Adults showed a reduction in the median number of positive IgE responses to mite molecular allergens (from 7 to 4; P = .004), whereas children showed no significant change.
• A strong negative correlation was observed between age and the change in the sensitization count (r = -0.5305; P < .0001), indicating a greater reduction in older individuals.
• Adults who had reductions in the molecular sensitization count showed alleviation of rhinitis and asthma symptoms (P < .05 for both), which was not observed in children or adolescents.
• Serum IgE concentrations for nearly all mite molecular components decreased in adults, and most mite molecules no longer triggered a detectable IgE response over the 20-year period. Children’s profiles varied, with some expanding and others remaining stable or decreasing.

IN PRACTICE

“Instead of a stability of the molecular profile, we found a loss of detectable IgE sensitizations occurred over the years in the oldest patients, and this was related to a decrease in severity of rhinitis and asthma,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE

Filipa Matos Semedo, MD, PhD, Hospital da Luz Setúbal, Setúbal, Portugal, was the corresponding author of the study, which was published online on June 21 in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

LIMITATIONS

The study had a modest sample size in each age group. Many participants were lost to follow-up over 20 years, which may have biased the results. The observational design prevented establishing cause-effect relationships.

DISCLOSURES

The study received funding from MeDALL (European Commission) and the Danube Allergy Research Cluster program of the Country of Lower Austria. One author reported receiving support from the EAACI Research Fellowship 2018 at the Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. One author reported serving as a lecturer for HVD.

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