The association between glaucoma and immunoglobulin E antibody response to indoor allergens

To evaluate the association between sensitization to indoor allergens and glaucoma in participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Retrospective cross-sectional study.

This study examined the association between serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels for a panel of common indoor allergens and glaucoma for 2005-2006 NHANES participants. The exposures of interest were serum IgE levels to a panel of common indoor allergens. The outcome of interest was a clinical diagnosis of glaucoma based on the Rotterdam criteria. Logistic regression modeling was performed to assess the association between each type of IgE and glaucoma, while controlling for age, ethnicity, and steroid use. All estimates were weighted based on the multistage NHANES sampling design.

Among a weighted total of 83 308 318 participants, the overall prevalence of glaucoma was 3.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.8%, 3.6%). The majority of patients were non-Hispanic white (n = 10 547 654; 77.1%). The American dust mite antigen had the highest proportion of participants with positive IgE values (n = 12 093 038; 14.5%). In the full model including all allergen-specific IgE subtypes as predictors, there were statistically significant associations between IgE subtypes and glaucoma for the cockroach (odds ratio [OR] = 2.78; 95% CI = 1.34, 5.76), cat (OR = 3.42; 95% CI = 1.10, 10.67), and dog (OR = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.06, 0.96) antigens.

In NHANES, participants with glaucoma had significantly higher odds of sensitization to the cockroach and cat allergens compared to those without glaucoma. These findings indicate the need for further research to elucidate the role of chronic indoor allergen exposure in the development of glaucomatous optic neuropathy.