Influence of the menstrual cycle on skin-prick test reactions to histamine, morphine and allergen.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective repeated-measures cohort study with a non-atopic control group
PubMed 7553250 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2222.1995.tb01078.x
What was done
Fifteen atopic women with seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis and/or asthma sensitive to olive or parietaria (mean age 25.2 years) and 15 non-atopic healthy female controls (mean age 24.7 years) underwent skin-prick testing across a single menstrual cycle. Tests with histamine, morphine, and (in atopic subjects) parietaria or olive were repeated at three time points: menses (days 1-4), midcycle (days 12-16), and the late progesterone phase (days 24-28). Participants had received no oral antihistamines or exogenous hormones for at least one month prior to testing.
What was found
Weal-and-flare sizes to histamine, morphine, and parietaria increased significantly on days 12-16 of the cycle in both atopic and non-atopic women. Differences in skin reactivity to histamine and morphine between the two groups were not significant. The abstract does not report specific numerical measurements, error estimates, or exact p-values.
Why it matters
Dermal reactivity varies across the menstrual cycle and peaks around ovulation, suggesting that cycle phase could introduce variability into clinical allergy skin-prick test interpretation.
Limits
The sample size was small (n = 30 total) and tested over only one menstrual cycle. Exact numerical data and statistical values were not reported in the abstract. Ovulation and hormone peaks were presumed based on cycle day rather than verified by hormonal assays.
Cited by
- supports Rising estrogen levels, such as during the days leading up to ovulation, cause histamine levels to increase.