A study reveals a possible association between being allergic to cow’s milk and an increased risk of cardiovascular disorders.
- The French Federation of Allergology reports that food allergies are experiencing unprecedented growth in the country, with a prevalence that has doubled over the past 10 years and affects 3.5% of adults and 8% of children.
- The first contact of the allergen with the immune system leads to the production of specific IgE antibodies. These cells are then distributed throughout the body, via the blood circulation.
- During this study, people who produced IgE antibodies against cow’s milk, peanuts, shrimp or even eggs had a “significantly increased risk of cardiovascular mortality”, according to the researchers.
People allergic to certain foods, such as cow’s milk or peanuts, may be at greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, according to a new study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in case of food allergy
To reach this conclusion, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, in the United States, relied on data from some 5,000 adults who participated in two studies carried out since the 2000s on a period of at least 14 years. Nearly 1,200 deaths caused by cardiovascular disorders were reported during the period.
Result, it appears that people who produced IgE antibodies against cow’s milk, peanuts, shrimp or even eggs, presented a “significantly increased risk of cardiovascular mortality”. This was even when traditional heart risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes, were taken into account. This is the first time that such an association has been observed by scientific research. Note that it was with cow’s milk that the link was strongest.
A link between allergic inflammation and heart disease?
“This does not definitively prove that food antibodies cause the increased risk, but this work builds on previous studies linking allergic inflammation and heart disease.”can we read in a communicated. “We were surprised by these results because it is very common to produce IgE when eating common food allergens (this represents about 15% of American adults), and most people have no symptoms when eating common food allergens. They consume them.” For researchers, the association between the production of IgE antibodies and cardiovascular mortality would rather be linked “food sensitivity rather than clinical allergy” as is.
“More research is needed on how sensitivity to common food allergens is linked to cardiovascular disease, agrees Professor Corinne Keet, lead author of the study. Although this research shows an association between food allergy and death from cardiovascular disease, there is still much work to be done to understand whether or not this is a causal relationship.”
