Self-reported questionnaire survey on the prevalence and symptoms of adverse food reactions in patients with chronic inhalant diseases in Tangshan city, China

• Published in: Allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 3
• Main Authors: Hao, Guodong, Lai, Xuxin, Song, Zhijing, Wang, Zhixing, Kong, Xing-Ai, Zhong, Haifeng, Hui, Sui Fu, Zheng, Yiwu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 02.02.2018; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adverse food reactions; Analysis; Care and treatment; Causes of; Food allergy; Food hypersensitivity; Health aspects; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Questionnaire; Respiratory tract diseases; Seafood; Symptom; China; Adverse food reactions; Food allergy; Prevalence; Questionnaire; Symptom
• ISSN: 1710-1484; 1710-1492; 1710-1492
• DOI: 10.1186/s13223-017-0228-3

The prevalence of adverse food reactions in patients with chronic inhalant diseases has seldom been studied in China. This study is to investigate the prevalence of adverse food reactions and the symptoms caused in respiratory patients. Respiratory patients in allergy clinics were asked to complete a questionnaire. Patients' information such as age, gender, family history of allergy, and adverse reactions to a list of 48 foods and the symptoms caused, was recorded. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine the prevalence of adverse food reactions and their associated symptoms. 459 subjects, with an average age of 32 years old, completed the questionnaire; 45.3% were male. Among the 459 subjects, 38.1% (175/459) had an adverse reaction to food: 13.6% had an adverse food reaction to crab, 12.4% had an adverse food reaction to shrimp; and 9.9% had an adverse reaction to shellfish. Peach and nectarine were also shown to be common causative foods with 6.8% of the study group showing an adverse reaction to peach and 5.2% to nectarine. Seafood mainly caused skin symptoms and fruits gave rise to more throat, oral, and gastrointestinal problems. The prevalence of adverse food reactions is high for patients with respiratory diseases. This indicates that adverse food reactions should be considered in the treatment and management of patients with chronic inhalant diseases.