There are no association between IgE levels and symptoms of anxiety and depression in the adult female general population.: The Hordaland Health Study (HUSK)

There are multiple reports of increased prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients with asthma, eczema and rhinitis. Suggested biological mechanisms underlying these associations most commonly involve IgE. However, the association between anxiety/depression and IgE has hardly been studied, and the aim of the present study will therefore be to examine the hypothesized association between anxiety/depression and IgE in a general adult female population. A sub-sample of 374 female participants in a population-based general health study in Norway (the Hordaland Health Study) with participation rate 70% was screened for total and allergen-specific IgE. Anxiety and depression were measured employing the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). This design ensured adequate statistical power, and the population-approach ensured satisfactory variance in both IgE and anxiety/depression. No association between case level or symptom load of anxiety/depression and total or allergen-specific IgE was found. Non-significant tendencies were both positive and negative. This finding was robust across continuous and categorical statistical approaches. Our finding does not question the commonly reported associations between anxiety/depression and asthma, rhinitis and eczema. We do, however, question the relevance of IgE as an aetiological factor in the biological chain underlying these associations.