Prevalence and sensitization of atopic allergy and coeliac disease in the Northern Sweden Population Health Study

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Enroth, Stefan, Dahlbom, Ingrid, Hansson, Tony, Johansson, Åsa, Gyllensten, Ulf
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab 2013
• Subjects: Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Arctic; Karesuando; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-206290; https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v72i0.21403

BACKGROUND: Atopic allergy is effected by a number of environmental exposures, such as dry air and time spent outdoors, but there are few estimates of the prevalence in populations from sub-arctic areas. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and severity of symptoms of food, inhalation and skin-related allergens and coeliac disease (CD) in the sub-arctic region of Sweden. To study the correlation between self-reported allergy and allergy test results. To estimate the heritability of these estimates. STUDY DESIGN: The study was conducted in Karesuando and Soppero in Northern Sweden as part of the Northern Sweden Population Health Study (n=1,068). We used a questionnaire for self-reported allergy and CD status and measured inhalation-related allergens using Phadiatop, food-related allergens using the F×5 assay and IgA and IgG antibodies against tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) to indicate prevalence of CD. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported allergy was very high, with 42.3% reporting mild to severe allergy. Inhalation-related allergy was reported in 26.7%, food-related allergy in 24.9% and skin-related allergy in 2.4% of the participants. Of inhalation-related allergy, 11.0% reported reactions against fur and 14.6% against pollen/grass. Among food-related reactions, 14.9% reported milk (protein and lactose) as the cause. The IgE measurements showed that 18.4% had elevated values for inhalation allergens and 11.7% for food allergens. Self-reported allergies and symptoms were positively correlated (p<0.01) with age- and sex-corrected inhalation allergens. Allergy prevalence was inversely correlated with age and number of hours spent outdoors. High levels of IgA and IgG anti-tTG antibodies, CD-related allergens, were found in 1.4 and 0.6% of participants, respectively. All allergens were found to be significantly (p<3 e-10) heritable, with estimated heritabilities ranging from 0.34 (F×5) to 0.65 (IgA). CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported allergy correlated well with the antibody measurements. The prevalence of ...