Atopic Predilection among Kawasaki Disease Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1,187,757 Teenagers

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute, systemic vasculitis in children, with an etiology that is not completely understood. It is assumed that the development of KD is mediated by an immunologic response. Several reports from East Asia have found a higher prevalence of atopic diseases among patients with KD, but a large-scale study of a non-Asian population regarding this correlation is still lacking. The purpose of this article was to achieve this goal. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, large-scale study to estimate the correlation of KD with allergic diseases. The medical history of 1,187,757 Israeli teenagers (aged 16-20 years during the years 1998-2013) was retrieved. The study population was divided into 3 groups according to a past history of noncomplicated and complicated KD and a control group. The prevalence of allergic diseases among these groups was further investigated. Results: The prevalence of atopic diseases in the 3 study groups was presented (asthma in 11.4, 8.1 and 3.5%, respectively; angioedema/urticaria in 7.1, 0 and 0.46%, respectively; allergic rhinitis in 20, 12.1 and 6.7%, respectively). In noncomplicated KD, a statistically significant link to asthma [odds ratio (OR) 2.4; p = 0.048] and a borderline significant link to allergic rhinitis (OR 1.9; p = 0.06) were found. In KD complicated with cardiac disease, statistically significant links were found for all the allergic conditions, asthma (OR 3.5; p = 0.003), allergic rhinitis (OR 3.5; p < 0.001) and angioedema/urticaria (OR 16.48; p < 0.001). Conclusion: KD is associated with allergic diseases. This association increases with the severity of the disease.