1 in 10 Adults Has a Food Allergy, Twice As Many Think They Do | @Ben Ryan | @Modern Medicine at PHARMATIVE.com
A new survey-based study has estimated that at least 10.8 percent of U.S. adults, or 26 million people, have a food allergy, while about 19 percent think they do.
Publishing their findings in JAMA Network Open, researchers conducted a population based survey study of 40,443 adults who had an average age of 47 years old, asking them about any food allergies. The study authors considered a reported allergy to a particular food convincing if the most severe reported reaction to that food included at least one symptom on a list developed by an expert panel. These reactions were divided into symptoms of the skin and oral mucosa (hives, itching, rash, etc.), respiration (chest tightening, nasal congestion, etc.), the gastrointestinal tract (belly pain, cramps, diarrhea, etc.), the cardiovascular system (rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, etc.), or other symptoms, including anxiety or headache.
The five most common convincing food allergies were shellfish (2.9 percent of adults), peanut (1.8 percent), milk (1.9 percent), tree nut (1.2 percent) and fin fish (0.9 percent). Among all adults with a convincing food allergy, 48 percent reported developing at least one of their convincing food allergies during adulthood; 26.0 percent developed any convincing food allergy only during adulthood; and 52 percent developed any convincing food allergy only when they were a child. A total of 45.3 percent reported multiple convincing food allergies.
A total of 51.1 percent of those with convincing food allergies reported experiencing at least one severe allergic reaction, including 67.8 percent of those with a peanut allergy and 61.3 percent of those with a tree nut allergy.
Compared with whites, blacks, Latinos and Asians were a respective 20 percent, 28 percent and 20 percent more likely to have a convincing food allergy. Women were 67 percent more likely than men to have one. Compared with those younger than 30 years old, those 30 to 39 years old were 13 percent more likely to have a convincing allergy and those age 60 and older were 29 percent less likely to have one.
Other factors that were associated with a higher likelihood of having a convincing food allergy, ranging between a 1.6-fold and 2.06-fold greater likelihood, included asthma, eczema, latex allergy, sting or venom allergy, medication allergy, hives and hay fever.
Sources:
1) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2720064;
2) https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/jn-hca010219.php #FoodAllergies#modernmedicine#pharmative
A new survey-based study has estimated that at least 10.8 percent of U.S. adults, or 26 million people, have a food allergy, while about 19 percent think they do.
Publishing their findings in JAMA Network Open, researchers conducted a population based survey study of 40,443 adults who had an average age of 47 years old, asking them about any food allergies. The study authors considered a reported allergy to a particular food convincing if the most severe reported reaction to that food included at least one symptom on a list developed by an expert panel. These reactions were divided into symptoms of the skin and oral mucosa (hives, itching, rash, etc.), respiration (chest tightening, nasal congestion, etc.), the gastrointestinal tract (belly pain, cramps, diarrhea, etc.), the cardiovascular system (rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, etc.), or other symptoms, including anxiety or headache.
The five most common convincing food allergies were shellfish (2.9 percent of adults), peanut (1.8 percent), milk (1.9 percent), tree nut (1.2 percent) and fin fish (0.9 percent). Among all adults with a convincing food allergy, 48 percent reported developing at least one of their convincing food allergies during adulthood; 26.0 percent developed any convincing food allergy only during adulthood; and 52 percent developed any convincing food allergy only when they were a child. A total of 45.3 percent reported multiple convincing food allergies.
A total of 51.1 percent of those with convincing food allergies reported experiencing at least one severe allergic reaction, including 67.8 percent of those with a peanut allergy and 61.3 percent of those with a tree nut allergy.
Compared with whites, blacks, Latinos and Asians were a respective 20 percent, 28 percent and 20 percent more likely to have a convincing food allergy. Women were 67 percent more likely than men to have one. Compared with those younger than 30 years old, those 30 to 39 years old were 13 percent more likely to have a convincing allergy and those age 60 and older were 29 percent less likely to have one.
Other factors that were associated with a higher likelihood of having a convincing food allergy, ranging between a 1.6-fold and 2.06-fold greater likelihood, included asthma, eczema, latex allergy, sting or venom allergy, medication allergy, hives and hay fever.
Sources:
1) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2720064;
2) https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/jn-hca010219.php
#FoodAllergies #modernmedicine #pharmative