Interrogation of atopy in IG A deficient individuals

INTRODUCTION AND AIM : Selective IgA deficiency is the most common immunoglobulin disorder. Its prevalence is reported 1: 300-1: 3000 in the previous studies. The clinical significance of IgA deficiency is unclear. While some patients are asymptomatıc it has been also detected in patients with autoimmune and atopic disorders. The results obtained so far are controversial and IgA deficiency is thought to play a role in airway hypersensitivity. In our study, we aimed to determine the relationship between Ig A deficiency and atopy and to increase the awareness of selective Ig A deficiency in this patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: One hundred patients between the ages of 2 and 18, who were admitted to the Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Allergy, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and General Pediatric Outpatient Clinic, and whose IgA level was below -2 SD for any reason, were selected. Data was collected from hospital data management system retrospectıvely. A questionnaire including questions from International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) study, related to IgA deficiency and atopy is performed on phone with the parents. We aim to investigate associatıon between Ig A deficiency and asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema and food intolerance. RESULTS:Fifty nine percent of the patients were male and 41% were female. The mean age was 6.96 (± 4.2).Twenty five percent of the patients had asthma, %7 had allergic rhinitis , %2 had drug allergy, %7 had eczema ,%18 had urticaria,%10 had food allergy. Skin test and blood specific allergy tests were performed in %80 of our patients and atopy rate was found 22.5% . CONCLUSION: In children with Ig A deficiency, wheezing complaints in the past, asthma, atopic dermatitis, food allergy are more common in comparison with the results of the survey conducted in the normal population. KEYWORDS: Ig A deficiency, atopy, ISAAC criteria