Food Allergies in Children on the Rise! November 17
An analysis that was recently published in the journal Pediatrics revealed that the occurrence of food allergies in children has increased over the years – and the reasons as to why this is happening is yet to be discovered. The knowledge, however, may become a driving force towards the conduct of studies to find out why this is so.
An analysis of data was conducted by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As far as self-reported allergies are concerned, the number reportedly increased by 18% over a ten year period, the period in question being 1997 to 2007. Health care visits due to food allergies reportedly increased threefold between two time periods — from 1992 to 1997 and from 2003 to 2006. In the 2003 to 2006 period, the average number of healthcare visits for allergies was more than 300,000.
The data that was analyzed came from surveys of children’s parents as well as from medical records. According to estimates taken from medical records between 2005 and 2006, 9% of children tested positive for immunoglobulin E antibodies to peanuts, 7% to eggs, 12% to milk, and 5% to shrimp. While tests for immunoglobulin E are not exactly considered as reliable indicators for the presence of allergies, they do indicate either an increased risk for allergies or a history of suffering from allergies in the past.
While allergies are usually considered as more of an annoyance, this seemingly benign condition can prove to be fatal in some cases, which is why a study regarding its occurrence is beneficial. It is also unclear, however, whether the increase in numbers is due to an increase in factors that lead to the development of allergies or simply because more people are starting to recognize allergy symptoms.
Tags: food allergy, food allergy causes