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Food allergies overestimated, misdiagnosed
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True food allergy occurs less frequently than thought by pediatricians and parents, with many other types of skin problems, including eczema, commonly mislabeled as allergies, according to a presenter at the American Academy of Dermatology 70th Annual Meeting.
Jon Hanifin, MD, of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, cited Chafen and colleagues, who recently published data that indicated food allergy affects at least 1% to 2% but far less than the 15% to 40% commonly thought.
Hanifin said there are many contributors to overdiagnosis, including:
- Enduring dogma that allergy triggers atopic dermatitis.
- Defective definitions.
- Imprecise indicators of allergy.
The results of these over-diagnoses are unnecessary testing and the perpetuation of false beliefs that food allergy is common, Hanifin said.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 2010 defined food allergy as: “An adverse health effect arising from a specific immune response that occurs reproducibly on exposure to a given food,” which replaced the former definition of “an adverse immune response.” According to the NIAID, non-immunologic adverse reactions are actually food intolerances, and Hanifin said food intolerance is far more common than true food allergies.
Hanifin recommended telling patients and parents that allergies are only proved when there is an immediate and consistent reaction that may include hives, gastrointestinal disturbances or respiratory issues, which are then confirmed by allergy testing.
Clinicians can get more information by visiting www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodallergy/Pages/default.aspx.
Disclosure: Dr. Hanifin reports no relevant financial disclosures.
For more information:
- Chafen JJ. JAMA. 2010;303:1848-1856.
- Hanifin J. Abstract FO34. Presented at: AAD 2012; March 16-20, 2012; San Diego.