Pollinosis and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and elderly Japanese: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Having an allergic disease may have health implications beyond those more commonly associated with allergy given that previous epidemiological studies have suggested that both atopy and allergy are linked to mortality. More viable immune functioning among the elderly, as indicated by the presence of an allergic disease, might therefore be associated with differences in all-cause mortality. OBJECTIVE: Using data from a Japanese cohort, this study examined whether having pollinosis (a form of allergic rhinitis) in a follow-up survey could predict all-cause and cause-specific mortality. METHODS: Data came from the Komo-Ise cohort, which at its 1993 baseline recruited residents aged 40-69 years from two areas in Gunma prefecture, Japan. The current study used information on pollinosis that was obtained from the follow-up survey in 2000. Mortality and migration data were obtained throughout the follow-up period up to December 2008. Proportional hazard models were used to examine the relation between pollinosis and mortality. RESULTS: At the 2000 follow-up survey, 12% (1088 of 8796) of respondents reported that they had pollinosis symptoms in the past 12 months. During the 76 186 person-years of follow-up, 748 died from all causes. Among these, there were 37 external, 208 cardiovascular, 74 respiratory, and 329 neoplasm deaths. After adjusting for potential confounders, pollinosis was associated with significantly lower all-cause [hazard ratio 0.57 (95% confidence interval = 0.38-0.87)] and neoplasms mortality [hazard ratio 0.48 (95% confidence interval = 0.26-0.92)]. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Having an allergic disease (pollinosis) at an older age may be indicative of more viable immune functioning and be protective against certain causes of death. Further research is needed to determine the possible mechanisms underlying the association between pollinosis and mortality.

Asthma and risk of lethal prostate cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

Inflammation, and more generally, the immune response are thought to influence the development of prostate cancer. To determine the components of the immune response that are potentially contributory, we prospectively evaluated the association of immune-mediated conditions, asthma and hayfever, with lethal prostate cancer risk in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. We included 47,880 men aged 40-75 years with no prior cancer diagnosis. On the baseline questionnaire in 1986, the men reported diagnoses of asthma and hayfever and year of onset. On the follow-up questionnaires, they reported new asthma and prostate cancer diagnoses. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate relative risks (RRs). In total, 9.2% reported ever having been diagnosed with asthma. In all, 25.3% reported a hayfever diagnosis at baseline. During 995,176 person-years of follow-up by 2012, we confirmed 798 lethal prostate cancer cases (diagnosed with distant metastases, progressed to distant metastasis or died of prostate cancer [N = 625]). Ever having a diagnosis of asthma was inversely associated with risk of lethal (RR = 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.51-1.00) and fatal (RR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.42-0.96) disease. Hayfever with onset in the distant past was possibly weakly positively associated with risk of lethal (RR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.92-1.33) and fatal (RR = 1.12, 95% CI = 0.91-1.37) disease. Men who were ever diagnosed with asthma were less likely to develop lethal and fatal prostate cancer. Our findings may lead to testable hypotheses about specific immune profiles in the etiology of lethal prostate cancer.

Sinonasal anatomic variants and asthma are associated with faster development of chronic rhinosinusitis in patients with allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis (AR) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) are a major burden to the healthcare system. Although no causal relationship has been established, previous work has demonstrated a strong association of AR with CRS. In this study, we sought to identify risk factors that may influence speed of development of CRS in patients with AR. METHODS: Retrospective review of all patients diagnosed with AR without CRS presenting to an otolaryngology clinic at a tertiary medical center as part of a multidisciplinary allergy evaluation between March 2004 and November 2011. Medical records were evaluated for clinicodemographic factors including age, gender, smoking history, medical comorbidities, categories of AR based on formal allergy testing, the presence of sinonasal anatomic variants on computed tomography as well as subsequent development of CRS. RESULTS: Faster progression to CRS in patients with AR was associated with comorbid asthma (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.97) as well as sinonasal anatomic variants, such as infraorbital cells (HR = 7.39), and frontal intersinus cells (HR = 68.03), on multivariate survival analysis. A statistically significant but negative interaction between infraorbital cells and frontal intersinus cells suggests that concomitant presence of both leads to a less than additive increase in the rate of CRS progression. CONCLUSION: Sinonasal anatomical variants, infraorbital cells, and frontal intersinus cells, as well as comorbid asthma are associated with faster development of CRS in patients with AR. The presence of these clinical risk factors identifies patients who should be counseled on compliance with medical therapy for AR.

Hay Fever and asthma as markers of atopic immune response and risk of colorectal cancer in three large cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: In a previous analysis of 12 cancers in the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) cohort including follow-up from 1982-2000, having both hay fever and asthma was associated with lower colorectal cancer mortality. The combination of these allergic conditions may be a marker for allergy-related immune responses that could inhibit colorectal carcinogenesis. METHODS: We examined the association of having both hay fever and asthma with colorectal cancer mortality among 1,023,191 participants in CPS-I, followed from 1959-1972, and 1,102,092 participants in CPS-II, now followed from 1982-2008. We also examined associations with colorectal cancer incidence among 174,917 participants in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort, a subgroup of CPS-II followed from 1992-2007. During the follow-up, there were 5,644 colorectal cancer deaths in CPS-I, 13,558 colorectal cancer deaths in CPS-II, and 3,365 incident colorectal cancer cases in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate multivariable-adjusted relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: RRs for colorectal cancer mortality associated with having both asthma and hay fever, compared with neither condition, were 0.90 (95% CI, 0.74-1.09) in CPS-I, 0.79 (95% CI, 0.69-0.91) in CPS-II, and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.74-0.92) when results from both cohorts were combined in a meta-analysis. The corresponding RR for colorectal cancer incidence in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.71-1.14). CONCLUSION: These results support an association between having both hay fever and asthma and modestly lower colorectal cancer mortality. IMPACT: Research examining other potential markers of allergy-related immune response in relation to colorectal cancer is warranted.

Respiratory disease in agricultural workers: mortality and morbidity statistics.

To quantify the respiratory disease burden among agricultural workers, we examined the 1988-1998 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) "Multiple Cause of Death Data" and the 1988-1994 Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (NHANES III). Proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) were determined for 11 respiratory conditions among 6 agricultural groups: crop farm workers, livestock farm workers, farm managers, landscape and horticultural workers, forestry workers, and fishery workers. Prevalence ratios (PRs) were determined for 12 respiratory conditions among 3 agricultural groups: farm workers, farm managers, and other agricultural workers. Disease categories groups were based on the 9th International Classification of Diseases and the agricultural groups on the NCHS or NHANES III industry and occupation codes, respectively. Crop farm workers and livestock farm workers had significantly elevated mortality for several respiratory conditions, with mortality for hypersensitivity pneumonitis being 10 and 50 times higher than expected. Landscape and horticultural workers had significantly elevated mortality for abscess of the lung and mediastinum and chronic airways obstruction. Forestry workers had significantly elevated mortality for pulmonary tuberculosis, chronic airways obstruction, and pneumonia. Prevalence of wheeze was elevated for female farm workers, shortness of breath was elevated for farm workers who had ever smoked, and hay fever was elevated for black, non-Hispanic farm workers. Prevalence of asthma was elevated for other agricultural workers who had ever smoked. Farm workers had a PR of 173 for obstructive respiratory abnormality. Continued improvement in occupational health surveillance systems for agriculture is essential to help guide prevention efforts for respiratory disease.

The increase in allergic respiratory diseases: survival of the fittest?

The prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases, asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, has increased since the advent of industrialization. The inverse relationship between the number of infections early in life and atopy has been interpreted as the "hygiene hypothesis." That is, many infections early in life promote the development of T helper type 1 cytokines, while fewer infections early in life favor the development of T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines and atopy. An alternate interpretation of the same data, that atopy is protective against infections early in life, is rarely considered. With epidemiologic, historical, and immunologic data, I suggest that human evolution has favored individuals with an atopic predisposition. Th2 immune responses promote parity, and ensure successful pregnancy and term birth; provide the infant protection against infections and the inflammation induced by common pathogens in the first years of life until the immune system matures; and protect young adults exposed to viral respiratory pathogens. These traits are of particular value with the advent of industrialization, especially so in the era prior to the development of antibiotics. This theory contradicts the assumption that there is no biological or evolutionary advantage for allergic disease to exist in humans and has significant implications for our current and future treatments of allergic diseases.