Prevalence of Immediate-Type Food Allergy in Early Childhood in Seoul

• Published in: Allergy, asthma & immunology research Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 131 - 136
• Main Authors: Park, Miran, Kim, Dosoo, Ahn, Kangmo, Kim, Jihyun, Han, Youngshin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology; The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease 01.03.2014; 대한천식알레르기학회
• Subjects: Arachis hypogaea; Original; 내과학; prevalence; Immediate hypersensitivity; food allergy; child
• ISSN: 2092-7355; 2092-7363
• DOI: 10.4168/aair.2014.6.2.131

There are scanty epidemiologic data on the prevalence of food allergy (FA) among preschool children in Asia. We performed this study to determine the prevalence and causative foods of immediate-type FA in early childhood in Korea. A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study was performed between September and October 2011. Children aged 0-6 years were recruited from 301 public child care centers in Seoul. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire on FA. Children with FA were classified into "perceived FA, ever," "immediate-type FA, ever," and "immediate-type FA, current" according to the algorithm. A total of 16,749 children were included in this study. The prevalence of "perceived FA, ever," "immediate-type FA, ever," and "immediate-type FA, current" was 15.1%, 7.0%, and 3.7%, respectively. "Immediate-type FA, current" was reported by 182 (4.9%) out of 3,738 children aged ≤2 years, 262 (3.4%) of 7,648 children aged 3-4 years, and 177 (3.3%) of 5,363 children aged 5-6 years. Hen's egg (126/621) was the most frequent cause as the individual food item, followed by cow's milk (82/621) and peanut (58/621). Among the food groups, fruits (114/621), tree nuts (90/621) and crustaceans (85/621) were the most common offending foods. The three leading causes of food-induced anaphylaxis were hen's egg (22/47), cow's milk (15/47), and peanut (14/47). The prevalence of immediate-type FA in early childhood is 3.7%, and is higher in younger children. The most common offending foods differed with age.