TABLE. Characteristics of persons who received testing for alpha-gal–specific immunoglobulin E — United States, January 1, 2017–December 31, 2022.
| Characteristic | No. (%) |
RR (95% CI) | p-value§ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (N = 295,400) |
Positive test result* (n = 90,018) |
Negative test result† (n = 205,382) |
|||
|
Age, yrs, mean (SD)
|
43.1 (19.9)
|
48.2 (19.9) |
40.8 (19.6) |
NA |
<0.001 |
|
Age group, yrs
| |||||
| 0–9 |
12,332
|
2,478 (2.8) |
9,854 (4.8) |
Ref |
<0.001 |
| 10–19 |
32,421
|
8,007 (8.9) |
24,414 (11.9) |
1.3 (1.2–1.4) |
|
| 20–29 |
36,852
|
7,682 (8.5) |
29,170 (14.2) |
1.0 (1.0–1.1) |
|
| 30–39 |
46,520
|
10,929 (12.1) |
35,591 (17.3) |
1.2 (1.2–1.3) |
|
| 40–49 |
49,297
|
13,837 (15.4) |
35,460 (17.3) |
1.6 (1.4–1.6) |
|
| 50–59 |
47,975
|
17,157 (19.1) |
30,818 (15.0) |
2.2 (2.1–2.3) |
|
| 60–69 |
40,690
|
16,858 (18.7) |
23,832 (11.6) |
2.8 (2.7–3.0) |
|
| >70 |
29,304
|
13,064 (14.5) |
16,240 (7.9) |
3.2 (3.0–3.4) |
|
|
Sex
| |||||
| Female |
188,532
|
45,257 (50.3) |
143,275 (69.7) |
Ref |
<0.001 |
| Male |
104,629
|
43,874 (48.7) |
60,755 (29.6) |
2.3 (2.2–2.3) |
|
| Unknown |
2,239
|
887 (1.0) |
1,352 (0.7) |
2.1 (1.9–2.3) |
|
|
Year
| |||||
| 2017¶ |
35,869
|
13,371 (14.9) |
22,498 (11.0) |
Ref |
<0.001 |
| 2018 |
43,195
|
13,821 (15.4) |
29,374 (14.3) |
0.8 (0.8–0.8) |
|
| 2019 |
57,327
|
17,372 (19.3) |
39,955 (19.5) |
0.7 (0.7–0.8) |
|
| 2020 |
56,726
|
16,936 (18.8) |
39,790 (19.4) |
0.7 (0.7–0.7) |
|
| 2021 |
66,106
|
18,885 (21.0) |
47,221 (23.0) |
0.7 (0.7–0.7) |
|
| 2022 | 36,177 | 9,633 (10.7) | 26,544 (12.9) | 0.6 (0.6–0.6) | |
Abbreviations: IgE = immunoglobulin E; kU = kilounit; NA = not applicable; Ref = referent group; RR = risk ratio.
* At least one alpha-gal–specific IgE test result ≥0.1 kU/L in a patient was considered positive.
† All alpha-gal–specific IgE test results <0.1 kU/L in a patient were considered negative.
§ P-values were calculated to identify significant difference in trends (age group or year) or interactions (sex) between those who received positive and negative test results; p<0.05 were considered statistically significant.
¶ Year was abstracted for the date of the first positive test result (for persons who received at least one positive test result) and the first negative test (for persons who only received negative test results).