Atopy in cough sensitivity to capsaicin and bronchial responsiveness in young females

We have shown previously that female sex is a determinant of cough sensitivity to inhaled capsaicin, but the relationship between atopy and the cough sensitivity has not been examined. The capsaicin cough threshold, defined as the lowest concentration of capsaicin causing Eve or more coughs, nonspecific bronchial responsiveness, defined as the provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in the forced expiratory volume in one second (PC20), total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and specific IgEs to eight common aeroallergens (house dust 1, 2 and 6, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and D. farinae, Japanese cedar, ragweed and orchard grass) in the serum were measured in 71 nonsmoking, healthy young women aged 20.6+/-0.1 yrs (mean+/-SEM). A structured interviewer-led questionnaire on allergic diseases revealed that one and six subjects had mild current and past asthma, respectively. These seven subjects were excluded from the data analysis. PC20 was significantly lower in 42 subjects showing a positive specific IgE than in 22 subjects showing a negative specific IgE to any of the eight allergens (p<0.05), while the capsaicin cough threshold was not significantly different between the subgroups. PC20 was significantly lower in subjects with positive specific IgE to Dermatophagoides and house dust, but not to the three kinds of pollen examined. It was confirmed that atopy indicated by specific immunoglobulin E to mite-related antigens, but not to pollen antigens, is associated with nonspecific bronchial responsiveness, and it is suggested that atopy is not a determinant of airway cough sensitivity in healthy, nonasthmatic subjects.