Study suggests booze boosts allergic reactions

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Study suggests booze boosts allergic reactions

NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters Health) - Scientists in Spain are reporting a

link between moderate alcohol consumption and antibodies found at high

levels in people prone to developing allergies.

The antibodies, known as IgE antibodies, cause allergic symptoms by

overreacting to generally harmless substances inhaled from the air such

as pollen, mold or animal dander.

" Our research found that regular alcohol intake higher than 70 grams per

week (or more than one drink per day) was associated with increased

total (blood) IgE levels in the patients studied, " lead investigator Dr.

Arturo -Quintela of Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de

Santiago, said in a prepared statement.

The researchers measured blood levels of IgE of 460 patients attending

an allergy clinic. The patients also reported their weekly alcohol

consumption. Most of the patients, 325 in all, were diagnosed as being

atopic, meaning that they produced high levels of IgE and were likely to

suffer from allergic illnesses such as hay fever, asthma or the skin

condition eczema.

" In patients allergic to house dust mites, regular alcohol intake was

associated with increased (blood) levels of specific IgE against these

mites, " -Quintela noted in his statement.

In the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research,

-Quintela and his team note that the findings are more likely to

offer clues on how the immune system functions with regard to allergies

than to provide new strategies for allergy treatment.

-Quintela cautioned that the findings do not justify the

conclusion that " alcohol intake should be avoided by (allergy-prone)

patients. "

" The findings certainly suggest that if you drink moderate alcohol you

are more likely to develop an allergic reaction to something, " Dr.

R. Jerrells of the University of Nebraska and the Omaha Veterans

Affairs Medical Center, who was not part of the study, told Reuters

Health in an interview.

Even though the findings show that alcohol affects a person's immune

response, more time and study is needed to know whether or not drinking

alcohol makes a person more susceptible to allergies, Jerrells

explained.

SOURCE: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 2002;26:60-64.