In an effort to further investigate the etiology of Kawasaki disease (KD), researchers performed a meta-analysis of studies that explored the association between KD and common atopic diseases. According to the authors, led by Zihan Wang, four atopic diseases linked with diagnoses of KD and allergic conjunctivitis and asthma in particular have the highest correlation. The study was published in the International Archives of Allergy and Immunology.
Researchers gathered 13 studies, encompassing 12,651 cases and 170,708 controls, that observed associations between KD and atopic diseases. The primary aim was to compare the frequency of KD in patients with atopic diseases versus non-atopic controls and, conversely, the frequency of atopic diseases in patients with KD versus non-KD controls. Random-effects models were used to pool odds ratio (OR).
In the analysis of cross-sectional studies, the investigators associated KD with allergic rhinitis (n = 6, OR = 1.69; 95% CI, 1.52–1.87), asthma (n = 3, OR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.38–2.14), allergic conjunctivitis (n = 2, OR = 1.95; 95% CI, 1.68–2.27), and atopic dermatitis (n = 3, OR = 1.35; 95% CI, 1.22–1.49). During review of case-control and cohort studies, KD was associated with allergic rhinitis (n = 3, OR = 1.35; 95% CI, 1.28–1.43), asthma (n = 8, OR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.19–1.65), allergic conjunctivitis (n = 1, OR = 1.74; 95% CI, 1.45–2.09), and atopic dermatitis (n = 3; OR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.26–1.53).
The authors surmised that allergic rhinitis, asthma, allergic conjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis were all correlated with diagnosis of KD. Noting that allergic conjunctivitis and asthma showed the highest association, the authors suggested they may be a good focal point for future research on the etiology of KD.
Source: International Archives of Allergy and Immunology
