Relationship between Serum IgE Concentration and Occurrence of Immediate Skin Test Reactions and Allergic Disorders in Young People

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Abstract
We studied serum IgE concentration by the PRIST® method in 157 adolescents (71 boys) aged 15–17 years. This group was randomly drawn from a larger unselected population of 708 young people. The geometric mean IgE for the 157 subjects was 37.6 U/ml. After careful exclusion 77 subjects without any signs or symptoms of atopy were found. The mean IgE for them was 16.6U/ml. Nineteen per cent of the population had an IgE. concentration higher than 160 /ml and 30% had a value below 20 U/ml. Positive skin test reactions were strongly associated with increased IgE level, byt the effect of bronchial wheezing was insignificant. We conclude that IgE concentrations above 160 U/ml during adolescence suggest atopy and correlate with positive skin test reactivity and /or clinical symptoms. An IgE value below 20U/ml almost certainly excludes the possibility of positive skin reactions and somewhat less certainly the possibility that symptoms are due to atopy.