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Lead exposure, IgE, and the risk of asthma in children

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 27, pages 478–483 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Lead (Pb) has adverse effects on our nervous system and renal systems. Young children are more vulnerable to Pb exposure. However, the role of low-level Pb exposure in the immune system and allergic diseases in children is not well established. The aims of this study are to investigate the associations between Pb exposure and allergic diseases; between Pb and immunoglobulin E (IgE) as an intervening variable; and gender-based differences. We used multistage stratified random sampling to recruit kindergarten children nationwide in Taiwan. Information about allergic diseases and environmental exposures was collected by questionnaire. We compared children with and without allergic diseases for blood Pb levels measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The association between blood Pb and allergic diseases was assessed by logistic regression and those between Pb and IgE by generalized linear models. We also conducted mediation analysis to evaluate how much risk of allergic diseases related to Pb exposure is explained by IgE. A total of 930 children completed specimen collections. There was a positive association between Pb and asthma. Blood Pb were also positively linked with serum IgE (β=0.26 kU/l per ln-unit increase Pb concentration; 95% CI 0.009–0.50 kU/l), after adjusting for potential confounders. Analyses stratified by gender revealed that blood Pb correlated with IgE only in boys (β=0.40 kU/l; 95% CI 0.03–0.76 kU/l). We estimated that 38% of the total effect of Pb exposure on asthma is mediated by IgE levels. In conclusion, Pb exposure is associated with both blood IgE and asthma in boys. Moreover, the effect of Pb exposure on asthma may be mediated by IgE levels.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan (MOST 105-2314-B-192-001). We thank Professor Yau-Huei Hwang, Miss Yi-Hseun Lin, and our colleagues for the data collection.

Author contributions

Conception and design, data analysis and interpretation, and manuscript writing: IJW. Interpretation and revisions of the manuscript: WJJK and CCY. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan

    I-Jen Wang

  2. Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    I-Jen Wang & Chen-Chang Yang

  3. Department of Health Risk Management, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    I-Jen Wang

  4. Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

    Wilfried J J Karmaus

  5. Division of Clinical Toxicology & Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chen-Chang Yang

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  1. I-Jen Wang
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Correspondence to I-Jen Wang.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website

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Wang, IJ., Karmaus, W. & Yang, CC. Lead exposure, IgE, and the risk of asthma in children. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 27, 478–483 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2017.5

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