Another survey shows food allergies on the rise

Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have used information from four different national data sources, including reports from parents and healthcare centres, to assess the current rate of food allergies in the United States.

Results indicate an 18 percent increase in the incidence of food allergy between 1997 and 2007, with parents of almost 4 percent of U.S. children (under 18 years of age) reporting a food or digestive allergy in their child.

Data collected between 1993 and 2006 from health-care providers indicated that the number of children being treated for food allergies had tripled. This anomaly in health-care provider versus parental reporting was possibly due to increased accuracy in coding the medical event as food allergy.

Of interest, survey results showed that Hispanic children had the lowest overall prevalence of food allergy but had the greatest increases over time of parent-reported incidences of food allergy.

The data used in this study was collected in the 1997-2007 National Health Interview Survey, 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1993-2006 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, and 1998-2006 National Hospital Discharge Survey. From these studies, parent reports about food allergies, serum immunoglobulin E antibody levels for specific foods, ambulatory care visits, and hospitalizations were assessed.

Reference: Branum and Lukacs 2009 Pediatrics. Vol 124(6) pp 1549-55.