CORONARY heart disease and high blood pressure have been linked to a history of allergic disorders, especially in Black male adults, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Asia 2022 Together With Korean Society of Cardiology (KSC) Spring Conference.
The association of allergic conditions and cardiovascular disease has been viewed as controversial. Therefore, the current study was conducted to confirm whether allergic disorders were associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease. Data was collected from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which is a cross-sectional survey of the USA population. The study included 34,417 adults, over half of whom were female and with an average age of 48.5 years. The allergic group consisted of 10,045 adults and had at least one of the following allergies: asthma, respiratory allergy, digestive allergy, skin allergy, and other allergies. The researchers adjusted for age, sex, race, smoking, alcohol drinking, and BMI. Subgroups stratified based on demographic factors were also examined.
The study found that a history of allergic disorders was linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. Furthermore, the participants aged 18–57 years with a history of allergic conditions had a heightened risk of developing high blood pressure. Remarkably, Black/African males between the ages of 39 years and 57 years had the highest risk of coronary heart disease. Asthma was considered the most significant allergic disorder that contributed to the risk of coronary heart disease and high blood pressure. Further and larger studies will be required to affirm these findings.
“For patients with allergic disorders, routine evaluation of blood pressure, and routine examination for coronary heart disease should be given by clinicians to ensure early treatments are given to those with hypertension or coronary heart disease,” said lead author Yang Guo, Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen Peking University-The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Medical Center, China.
