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History of allergies
and autoimmune diseases and risk of brain tumors in adults
Brenner AV, Linet MS, Fine HA,
Shapiro WR, Selker RG, Black PM, Inskip PD
Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division
of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National
Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-7362, USA. brennera@mail.nih.gov
To explore a possible influence of the
immune system in the development of brain tumors, we evaluated the relationship
between history of allergies and autoimmune diseases and risk of brain tumors
within a large, hospital-based case-control study.
Cases (n = 782) were patients recently diagnosed with glioma (n = 489),
meningioma (n = 197) or acoustic neuroma (n = 96) at hospitals in Boston,
Phoenix and Pittsburgh (USA).
Controls (n =799) were patients hospitalized for a variety of nonmalignant
conditions and frequency-matched to cases by hospital, age, sex, race/ethnicity
and distance of residence from hospital.
Research nurses collected data by personal interview of patients.
Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using
unconditional logistic regression.
There was a significant inverse association between glioma and history of any
allergies (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.52-0.86) or autoimmune diseases (OR = 0.49, 95%
CI = 0.35-0.69).
No significant associations were evident for meningioma or acoustic neuroma with
history of any allergies.
An inverse association was observed between meningioma and history of autoimmune
diseases (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.38-0.92).
There was a suggestion of interaction between allergies and autoimmune diseases
on risk of glioma (p = 0.06), with subjects having both conditions being at
lowest risk (OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.14-0.42).
Among the specific conditions, asthma and diabetes showed the most consistent
associations (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.43-0.92 and OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.27-0.70,
respectively).
Our results add to evidence that persons with allergies or autoimmune diseases
are at reduced risk of glioma.
The basis of the associations is not clear, but they might imply a role of
immunologic factors in the development of brain tumors.
Published 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
PMID: 11979441 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11979441
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