Association between Allergies and Hypercholesterolemia: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: There is controversy in the literature regarding the potential relationship between atopic predisposition (AP) and serum cholesterol levels. To this purpose, we reviewed human studies that investigated this possible link. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a literature search of PubMed and Science Direct for peer-reviewed journal articles in English from January 2003, with updates through to August 2016, was conducted. Relevant publications were reviewed that included pediatric and adult populations. Information on the study design, sample, intervention, comparators, outcome, time frame, and risk of bias were abstracted for each article. Results: Of 601 reviewed reports, 18 were included in this systematic review. Fifteen studies assessed the relationship between AP and serum cholesterol levels. Due to the lack both of observational and cross-sectional studies from the literature search at this time (only 8 studies also analyzed confounding factors) there is a high possibility of confounding variables (familial and genetic predisposition, age, gender, BMI, comorbidity, and medication status) that could not be ruled out. Conclusion: Existing studies are heterogeneous, making it difficult to draw broad conclusions. Future studies and more detailed analyses, considering confounding variables and including a larger and homogeneous population, are needed to strengthen the argument for a link between lipid metabolism and atopy.

Lipid Profile and IL-17A in Allergic Rhinitis: Correlation With Disease Severity and Quality of Life

“…12 Research suggests a link between cholesterol and the adaptive immune system, as both have the same immunological pathways involving Th1 toTh2 switch, an increase in Th2 related IgG1 and IgE release, and elevation of pro-inflammatory Th2 cytokines release such as IL-4. 13 Numerous research investigated the association between dyslipidemia and allergic diseases. Fessler et al 14 demonstrated the relationship between total cholesterol (TC) level and atopy in children 6-17 years of age.…”

Genetic polymorphism of ADAM17 and decreased bilirubin levels are associated with allergic march in the Korean population

“…For this reason, our finding that reduced bilirubin increases the incidence of asthma is novel and elucidates scope for further research. Total cholesterol levels have also been found to exhibit significant differences in the present study, and some studies have examined the correlation between cholesterol and allergies [ 31 , 32 ]. However, there remains controversy regarding the relationship between allergies and serum cholesterol levels, so we did not perform further analysis.…”

Differential Effects of Obesity, Hyperlipidaemia, Dietary Intake and Physical Inactivity on Type I versus Type IV Allergies

“…Above that, we were able to identify a direct contribution of alterations in the lipid metabolism to both the risk for contact allergy and hay fever. This is of interest since previous studies have not yet allowed for a clear valuation of this association mostly due to the lacking assessment of potential influencing factors [ 18 ]. Consistent with a higher proportion of hyperlipidaemia in contact allergy in comparison to the respective control group, we found a significant association with the participants’ dietary fat intake.…”