Evaluation of Serum Zonulin Level and Intestinal Permeability in Patients with Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria and the Relationship between Serum Zonulin Level and Disease Severity

Abstract Background The development of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU) and increased intestinal permeability may be related. Aim It was aimed to evaluate the role of intestinal permeability in the etiopathogenesis of CSU and the relationship between disease severity and zonulin levels by measuring the zonulin level, which is an indicator of the increase in intestinal permeability, in the serum of CSU and control groups. Methods 61 CSU patients and 59 healthy controls were included. Demographic characteristics, personal and family history, urticaria activity score, age of onset, duration of last attack, antihistamine dose used, and concomitant diseases of CSU patients were recorded. Result Between the patient and control groups, there was a statistically significant difference in zonulin levels (p=0.000). Patients with angioedema had considerably greater zonulin levels than patients without angioedema, and there was a statistically significant difference in zonulin levels depending on whether angioedema was present (p=0.023). Conslusion These findings suggest that intestinal permeability may play an important role in the pathogenesis of CSU and angioedema.