Prevalence of food allergy in asthma

Abstract

Methodological problems limit the evaluation of the prevalence of food allergy in asthma. Methods commonly used in epidemiologic studies of allergic diseases (e. g. skin tests and eventually serum‐specific IgE) are not reliable. Only double‐blind food challenges combined with skin tests or specific IgE can screen asthmatics allergic to foods, but this method cannot be used in epidcmiologic studies. Thus, either epidemiologic studies are performed in a random population with inappropriate methods, or they are performed in selected populations with appropriate techniques. The prevalence of asthma due to food allergy is small, what ever patient group is considered, except in infants. In childhood asthma it may be considered that 4–7% of asthmatics have food‐induced symptoms, but in adults it is under 2%.

Bronchial challenges with aerosolized food in asthmatic, food‐allergic children

“…There has been a long-standing debate as to whether foods and diet play a role in allergic asthma (13). Up to 8% of asthmatic subjects have a coexistent food allergy (14,15). Co-existent food allergy has also been implicated as a risk factor for severe asthma (16).…”

Peanut allergy

“…Peanuts are one of the most common foods causing allergic reactions both in children and adults [19,[25][26][27][28][29][30] and its involvement in food allergic reactions seems to have increased in the past decade [3t]. In 8t children and adolescents aged between 3 and 16 years with a history of Correspondence: Dr J.…”

“…They are more reliable in children than in adults [118] and their value obviously depends on the quality of the allergen extract. With peanut, they are positive in 50-70% of patients presenting with a confirmed allergic reaction [29,33,36].…”

Food Allergy in Children with Asthma: Prevalence and Correlation with Clinical Severity of Respiratory Disease

“…Another paper [7] investigated the prevalence of food allergy in 6672 schoolchildren aged 9-11 *Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Paediatrics, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital; University of Bologna, Italy; E-mail: giampaolo.ricci@unibo.it years recruited from 108 schools randomly selected in six French cities: of the children with asthma and concomitant allergic rhinitis, 6.4% reported symptoms of food allergy and 4.5% were sensitized to food allergens; of the children with only asthma, 2.9% reported symptoms of food allergy and 3.2% were sensitized to food allergens. However, more recent studies estimated that 4% to 8% of children with asthma have coexistent food allergy [8,9].…”