Asthma and the prospective risk of anaphylactic shock and other allergy diagnoses in a large integrated health care delivery system.

BACKGROUND

The association between asthma and anaphylaxis remains poorly understood.

OBJECTIVE

To ascertain, in a managed care organization in northern California, the association of asthma and asthma severity with future risk of anaphylactic shock and other selected allergy diagnoses.

METHODS

Using electronic data and validated algorithms, we assembled a cohort of 526,406 patients who met the criteria for asthma between 1996 and 2006 and a referent cohort (with no utilization for asthma) individually matched on age, sex, and race/ethnicity. In each cohort, 54% of patients were female and 55% were white; their mean (SD) age was 24 (20) years. The main outcome measures were anaphylactic shock (caused by an adverse food reaction, caused by serum, or other/idiopathic), allergic urticaria, anaphylaxis after sting(s), and angioedema.

RESULTS

The incidence of anaphylactic shock was 109.0 per 100,000 person-years in the asthma cohort and 19.9 per 100,000 person-years in the referent cohort. After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, comorbidities, and immunotherapy, asthma was associated with a 5.2-fold (95% confidence interval, 4.7- to 5.6-fold) increased hazard of anaphylactic shock. Asthma was also significantly associated with an increased risk of the 3 selected allergy diagnoses, with hazard ratios of 1.4 to 1.9. A significant trend by severity of asthma was apparent for food-related and other/idiopathic anaphylactic shock and for anaphylaxis after sting(s).

CONCLUSIONS

In this insured population, asthma was prospectively associated with increased risk of anaphylactic shock and other allergy diagnoses. However, the effect of asthma severity was not consistent across outcome measures.