SERUM IGE LEVELS IN WHITE AND METIS COMMUNITIES IN SASKATCHEWAN

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  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 37  (2) , 91-100
Abstract
Serum IgE [immunoglobulin E] levels and the prevalence of certain atopic diseases were studied in 819 individuals in 176 white families living in central Saskatchewan [Canada] and in 275 individuals in 58 Metis families living in N Saskatchewan. The geometric mean serum IgE level in the white community (81.3 u[units]/ml) was lower than that in the Metis community (275.4 u/ml). The pervalence of asthma, eczema and urticaria was greater in the white than in the Metis community, and contrasted with the increased prevalence of helminth infestation as well as of other untreated viral and bacterial diseases in the Metis community. Atopic disease is apparently the price paid by some members of the white community for their relative freedom from diseases due to viruses, bacteria and helminths.