An examination was made of 221 children with
bronchial asthma, who were divided into six groups according to serum and saliva Ig levels and the number of circulating T cells. Absence or small amounts of
IgA and low or low-normal numbers of T cells were associated with (
1) atopic dermatitis, (2)
hypersensitivity to house dust mite and animal danders, (3) previous hospital admissions due to
respiratory tract infections with pathogenic bacteria and (4) a high family incidence of allergic diseases. In a group of patients with
IgA deficiency and elevated serum and saliva
IgM,
respiratory tract infections were not common, and furthermore, in another group of
IgA-deficient patients with normal numbers of circulating T cells,
atopic dermatitis was rare. In the latter patients,
allergic rhinitis occurred very frequently, and in that respect they resembled a group of patients with combined high
IgM/high
IgE levels. Another group of asthmatic children with normal Ig levels represented an intermediate type of patient with regard to
hypersensitivity to different
allergens and family incidence of
allergy on the one hand, and the occurrence of
atopic dermatitis and
allergic rhinitis on the other. Investigations on Ig levels and circulating T cells in asthmatic children may provide important clues into disease classification and mechanisms of such patients.