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Food Allergies Have Doubled Among Black Children

Kids in NigeriaFood allergies have increased in the United States alone in recent years, and treating food allergies in children costs nearly $25 billion annually. Now a new study published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology reports that self-reported food allergies have nearly doubled over the past 23 years among black children.

A food allergy is an exaggerated immune response triggered by a specific food. Common food allergens include eggs, nuts, milk, peanuts, fish, shellfish, strawberries, and tomatoes. Food allergies can cause severe symptoms or even a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis. Parents whose children suffer from food allergies must take extreme caution to avoid the triggers that cause the reaction.

For the present study, the researchers analyzed data from 452,237 children between 1988 and 2011. According to the data, food allergies have increased among black children at a rate of 2.1 percent per decade, among Hispanic children at a rate of 1.2 percent, and among white children at one percent.

The researchers believe that the findings could show a possible food allergy prediction.

Explains Corinne Keet, MD, MS, lead study author and assistant professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University:

“Our research found a striking food allergy trend that needs to be further evaluated to discover the cause. Although African Americans generally have higher levels of IgE, the antibody the immune system creates more of when one has an allergy, it is only recently that they have reported food allergy more frequently than white children. Whether the observed increase is due to better recognition of food allergy or is related to environmental changes remains an open question.”

However, the researchers to caution that, although the numbers are alarming, the data represents self-reported food allergies. States Dr. Keet, “Many of these children did not receive a proper food allergy diagnosis from an allergist. Other conditions such as food intolerance can often be mistaken for an allergy, because not all symptoms associated with foods are caused by food allergy.”

Additionally cautions allergist Dr. Marshall Gailen, “If you think you have symptoms of a food allergy, you should see an allergist for proper testing, diagnosis and treatment. You should never take matters into your own hands, whether it is self-treating your allergy or introducing an allergenic food back into your diet to see if you’re still allergic.”

Parents who suspect a food allergy in a child should take the child to a certified allergist to confirm the allergy. Simply avoiding a suspected trigger can lead to malnourishment, especially if a food is avoided unnecessarily.

Another recent study suggests that women who are not allergic to nuts or legumes and who eat peanuts during pregnancy could lower the risk of their child developing a food allergy to peanuts.

References

Cases of food allergy ‘have doubled in black children’: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273402.php
Food allergy nearly doubles among black children: http://www.newswise.com/articles/food-allergy-nearly-doubles-among-black-children?ret=/articles/list&channel=&category=latest&page=5&search%5Bstatus%5D=3&search%5Bsort%5D=date+desc&search%5Bhas_multimedia%5D=
Temporal trends and racial/ethnic disparity in self-reported pediatric food allergy in the United States: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24428971

Image Credits

Kids in Nigeria: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1122589

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