Table 2.
The Prevalence of Chlamydia-specific IgE in Patient Sera
| Respiratory Disease | Non-Inflammatory Disease | P-values | Healthy Controls | P-values | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Number of Patients |
177 |
20 |
|
35 |
|
|
Serum IgE, No. (%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Positive |
97 (55%) |
1 (5%) |
0.0030* |
0 (0%) |
0.0001* |
|
Negative |
80 (45%) |
19 (95%) |
|
35 (100%) |
|
|
Chlamydial DNA, No. (%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Positive |
124 (70%) |
10 (50%) |
0.4417 |
7 (20%) |
0.0208* |
| Negative | 53 (30%) | 10 (50%) | 28 (80%) |
Fifty five percent of patients with inflammatory respiratory disease had Chlamydia-specific IgE antibodies in their sera compared to 5% of the 20 patients with structural anomalies and 0% of healthy controls (p = 0.0030 and 0.0001 respectively. 70% of the patients diagnosed with respiratory disease also tested positive for chlamydial DNA, whereas only 20% of healthy controls tested positive for chlamydial DNA (p = 0.0208).