IgA Level Is Associated with Risk for Mortality in an Eighty-Year-Old Population

• Published in: Gerontology (Basel) 2009-01, Vol.55 (2), p.179-185
• Main Authors: Torisu, Takehiro, Takata, Yutaka, Ansai, Toshihiro, Soh, Inho, Awano, Shuji, Sonoki, Kazuo, Kagiyama, Shuntaro, Nakamichi, Ikuo, Yoshida, Akihiro, Hamasaki, Tomoko, Matsumoto, Takayuki, Iida, Mitsuo, Takehara, Tadamichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiovascular Diseases - immunology; Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality; Clinical Section; Development. Metamorphosis. Moult. Ageing; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Hypergammaglobulinemia - immunology; Hypergammaglobulinemia - mortality; Immunoglobulin A - blood; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Japan - epidemiology; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Male; Neoplasms - immunology; Neoplasms - mortality; Pneumonia - immunology; Pneumonia - mortality; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk Factors; Sex Characteristics; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 0304-324X; 1423-0003
• DOI: 10.1159/000162260

Background: Immunoglobulin levels are elevated in the older people. However, it is unknown whether these levels are related to mortality. Object: To evaluate the association between immunoglobulin levels and mortality. Methods: The study population included 697 individuals (277 males and 420 females) of 1,282 eighty-year-old individuals residing in the Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. The participants were followed for 4 years after the baseline examination. Results: The hyper-IgA group, defined as a serum IgA level >400 mg/dl, had high mortality using Kaplan-Meier analysis (log rank, p = 0.037). Multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed a high risk of mortality (hazard rate = 1.233, 95% confidence interval 1.109–1.491, p = 0.031) after adjusting for covariates. The high risk of mortality in the hyper-IgA group was significant in males, but not in females. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that IgA was related to cancer mortality in males (log rank, p = 0.031), but not to pneumonia or cardiovascular disease. IgM and IgG levels were not related to high risk of mortality. Conclusion: Serum IgA levels appear to be a predictor of mortality, especially cancer mortality in males.