Food allergy cases among US children on the rise
The prevalence of food allergies rose dramatically among US children over the past decade, though it is unclear whether the actual number of cases or just the reporting of food allergy accounted for the rise, a new study found
Self-reported food allergies among children increase by 18% from 1997 to 2007 and visits to outpatient medical facilities for food allergy treatment nearly tripled from 1993 to 2006, according to the paper published online November 16 in the journal Pediatrics.
While the data, which came from several national surveys, indicated that the prevalence of food allergies is on the rise, the authors of the study cautioned that the cause of the rise in reported cases remains a mystery. “It cannot be determined how much of the increases in estimates are truly attributable to increases in clinical disease and how much are attributable to increased awareness by physicians, other healthcare providers, and parents,” they wrote.
