Climate change impacts on food allergies

An Australian scientist, Dr Paul Beggs from Macquarie University, has won the 2009 OSMR Jamie Callachor Eureka Prize for Medical Research for his research which includes investigating the link between climate change and the increasing incidence of allergens and allergic diseases such as asthma.

His early work in this field brought international attention to the possible impacts of increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns on asthma, airborne allergens such as pollen, and plant food allergens such as those found in peanuts. This research was based on a theory that some proteins in plants that are allergenic to humans are generated in response to climatic stress. Plant metabolism is directly affected by carbon dioxide levels and temperature, therefore the higher CO2 concentrations and temperature extremes brought about by climate change may cause many plants to produce new or greater levels of allergenic proteins.

Dr Beggs is currently continuing his research into the relationship between increased CO2 and peanut allergen levels.

More information about the impacts of climate change on plant food allergens can be found in a paper published by Dr Beggs in October 2008: Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, Vol 1 (2), pp.119-123.