چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background: Studies have addressed the immunomodulatory effects of helminths and their protective
effects upon asthma. However, anti-Ascaris IgE has been reported to be associated with an increased risk
of asthma symptoms. We examined the association between serum levels of anti-Ascaris IgE and
bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) in children living in rural Bangladesh.
Methods: Serum anti-Ascaris IgE level was measured and the BHR test done in 158 children aged 9 years
selected randomly from a general population of 1705 in the Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance
Area of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. We investigated wheezing
symptoms using a questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. BHR
tests were successfully done on 152 children (108 ‘current wheezers’; 44 ‘never-wheezers’). We examined
the association between anti-Ascaris IgE level and wheezing and BHR using multiple logistic
regression analyses.
Results: Of 108 current-wheezers, 59 were BHR-positive; of 44 never-wheezers, 32 were BHR-negative.
Mean anti-Ascaris IgE levels were significantly higher (12.51 UA/ml; 95% confidence interval (CI), 9.21
e17.00) in children with current wheezing with BHR-positive than in those of never-wheezers with BHRnegative
(3.89; 2.65e5.70; t test, p < 0.001). A BHR-positive test was independently associated with anti-
Ascaris IgE levels with an odds ratio (OR) ¼ 7.30 [95% CI, 2.28e23.33], p ¼ 0.001 when adjusted for total
IgE, anti-Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus IgE, pneumonia history, parental asthma, Trichuris infection,
forced expiratory volume in one second, eosinophilic leukocyte count, and sex.
Conclusions: Anti-Ascaris IgE level is associated with an increased risk of BHR among 9-year-old rural
Bangladeshi children.