Allergic conditions are not associated with the risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or Hodgkin’s lymphoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

We aimed to systematically evaluate the association between allergic conditions and the risk of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and non-HL (NHL). Systematic literature searches in PubMed and Embase were conducted up to October 2015 to identify eligible studies. Either a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model was adopted to estimate overall odds ratios (ORs) according to heterogeneity across studies. Subgroup and publication bias analyses were applied. A total of 24 case–control studies and 13 cohort studies (conducted from 1987 to 2015) were included in the analysis of the risk of NHL. History of any allergic condition was inversely associated with the risk of NHL in case–control studies (OR =0.83, 95% CI 0.76–0.91), while the reduction in the risk of NHL was not observed in cohort studies (OR =1.18, 95% CI 0.98–1.42). Significant association with the risk of NHL was found for asthma, hay fever, food allergy, allergic rhinitis, and hives. In the pooled analysis of the risk of HL, 12 studies (two were cohort studies) were included. The pooled OR was 0.96 (95% CI 0.84–1.09) for case–control studies and 1.46 (95% CI 0.63–3.38) for cohort studies. For specific allergic condition, we observed a reduced risk of HL in individuals with hay fever and food allergy. In conclusion, history of any allergic condition was not significantly associated with the risk of NHL or HL. Several specific allergic conditions, including asthma, hay fever, food allergy, and allergic rhinitis, might be associated with a reduced risk of NHL, while individuals with hay fever or food allergy may have a reduced risk of HL.