IgE predicts future nonfatal myocardial infarction in men

Langer, Robert D.; Criqui, Michael H.; Feigelson, Heather S.; McCann, Theresa J.; Hamburger, Robert N.

« Previous Next »Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume 49, Issue 2 , Pages 203-209, February 1996

IgE predicts future nonfatal myocardial infarction in men☆

Robert D. Langer
- All correspondence should be addressed to: Robert D. Langer, MD, MPH, Division of Epidemiology, UCSD School of Medicine MC 0607, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607, U.S.A..
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 0607 Division of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, U.S.A.
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607, U.S.A.
Michael H. Criqui
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 0607 Division of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, U.S.A.
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607, U.S.A.
Heather S. Feigelson
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 0607 Division of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, U.S.A.
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607, U.S.A.
Theresa J. McCann
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 0607 Division of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, U.S.A.
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607, U.S.A.
Robert N. Hamburger
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 0607 Division of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, U.S.A.
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607, U.S.A.

Received in revised form 12 April 1995

Abstract

Established risk factors cannot explain all the variance in coronary heart disease (CHD). Immunoglobin E (IgE), a mediator of allergy, can affect platelets and arterial smooth muscle. We previously demonstrated a cross-sectional association between IgE and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in men. The present study evaluated this relationship prospectively in 278 men and 343 women followed for a mean of 8.9 years. There was an association between IgE and coronary disease in men, but not in women. There was no association for CVD, stroke, or all-cause mortality. The age-adjusted relative risk (RR) for coronary mortality in men with baseline IgE ⩾ 200 was 1.66 (p ⩽ 0.66), but for nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) it was 6.46 (p ⩽ 0.01). This association was independent of smoking and other risk factors, and unrelated to allergy. Thus, elevated IgE was a strong independent prospective risk factor for nonfatal, but not fatal, MI in men.