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Race appears to have limited effect on food allergy rates
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Racial and ethnic disparities appear not to exist regarding prevalence of food allergy among US children, according to data presented during the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in San Antonio.
Although some data have suggested an increased risk of food sensitization, self-reported allergy or clinic-based diagnosis of food allergy among black children, no definitive racial/ethnic disparity could be demonstrated among currently available studies.
Matthew Greenhawt
Therefore, Matthew Greenhawt, MD, MBA, MSc, department of internal medicine, division of allergy and clinical immunology, University of Michigan Medical School and the University of Michigan Health System, and colleagues performed a systematic literature review to better understand racial/ethnic disparities in food allergy in the United States.
The investigators searched PubMed/Medline, Embase and Scopus for original data regarding racial/ethnic disparities in the diagnosis, prevalence, treatment or clinical course of food allergy or sensitization, with a focus on black race. Of the 645 identified articles in the search, 20 met inclusion criteria.
However, the studies used various criteria to define food allergy, including: self-report; sensitization assessed by serum food-specific immunoglobulin E to selected foods without corroborating history; ICD-9CM discharge codes; clinic chart review; and event-reporting databases. In addition, none of the studies used oral food challenge.
“Sparse and methodologically limited data exist regarding racial/ethnic disparity in food allergy in the United States, partially because available data lack a common definition for food allergy and use indirect measures of allergy rather than the gold standard — a food challenge,” Greenhawt, a member of the Infectious Diseases in Children Editorial Board, said.
In 13 of the 20 studies analyzed, black patients (primarily children) had significantly higher odds of food allergy by self-report, ICD-9 discharge codes or clinic-based chart-review vs. white children.
“Although data suggest an increased risk of food sensitization, self-reported allergy or clinic-based diagnosis of food allergy among black children, no definitive racial/ethnic disparity could be demonstrated among currently available studies,” the researchers concluded.
For more information:
Greenhawt M. Abstract #207. Presented at: 2013 Annual Meeting of the AAAAI; Feb. 22-26, 2013; San Antonio.
Disclosure: This study was supported by a contract from the CDC with the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (now Food Allergy Research and Education). Greenhawt is supported by the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, NIH UL1RR024986. The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official positions of the CDC or Food Allergy Research and Education.