Background: Although allergy is known to play an important role in the development of asthma, its influence on the severity of the disease remains under discussion.

Objective: The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between asthma severity and intensity of atopy in adult female asthmatic patients.

Methods: One hundred two consecutive female patients (mean [SD] age, 51.7 [13.4] years) defi ned as asthmatics according to criteria of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) were prospectively included in the study and their atopic status was investigated by skin prick tests and immunoglobulin (Ig) E levels in serum.

Results: Fifty-six patients were determined to be atopic. The 2 most common allergens were mites (37.2%) and pollens (36.3%). According to GINA classification, 16.7% of the patients had mild intermittent asthma, 27.2% had mild persisten asthma, 33.4% moderate persisten asthma, and 22.5% severe persistent asthma. The mean IgE level was 190.3 (293.8) IU/mL. No differences between atopic and nonatopic asthmatic
women were found with regard to severity of asthma, lung functions, age, smoking status, or duration of the disease. Although we found that mean serum total IgE levels tended to increase progressively with asthma severity, the differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Intensity of allergy as measured by number of positive skin prick tests, size of wheal in positive tests, level of total IgE in serum did not influence asthma severity in adult female asthmatics.

Key words: Asthma severity. Allergy. Immunoglobulin E. Skin prick test. Women.