Frequency of food allergy in school-aged children in eight European countries-The EuroPrevall-iFAAM birth cohort

Linus Grabenhenrich^{1

2}, Valérie Trendelenburg³, Johanna Bellach^{3

4}, Songül Yürek³, Andreas Reich⁵, Ana Fiandor⁶, Daniela Rivero⁶, Sigurveig Sigurdardottir^{7

8}, Michael Clausen^{8

9

10}, Nikolaos G Papadopoulos^{11

12}, Paraskevi Xepapadaki¹², Aline B Sprikkelman¹³, Bianca Dontje¹⁴, Graham Roberts^{15

16}, Kate Grimshaw^{17

18}, Marek L Kowalski¹⁹, Marcin Kurowski²⁰, Ruta Dubakiene²¹, Odilija Rudzeviciene²², Montserrat Fernández-Rivas²³, Philip Couch²⁴, Serge A Versteeg²⁵, Ronald van Ree²⁶, Clare Mills²⁷, Thomas Keil^{28

29

30}, Kirsten Beyer³

Affiliations

¹ Department for Methodology and Research Infrastructure, Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany.
² Department of Dermatology, Venerology and Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
³ Department of Paediatric Pneumology, Immunology and Intensive Care, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ernst von Bergmann Academic Educational Hospital, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Epidemiology Unit, German Rheumatism Research Center, a Leibniz Institute, Berlin, Germany.
⁶ Department of Allergy, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain.
⁷ Department of Immunology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
⁸ Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
⁹ Children's Hospital Reykjavik, Reykjavik, Iceland.
¹⁰ Department of Allergy, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
¹¹ Division of Infection, Immunity & Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
¹² Allergy Department, 2nd Paediatric Clinic, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
¹³ Department of Pediatric Pulmonology & Pediatric Allergology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
¹⁴ Department of Pediatric Pulmonology & Pediatric Allergology, Emma Kinderziekenhuis AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
¹⁵ Clinical and Experimental Sciences and Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
¹⁶ NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
¹⁷ Clinical and Experimental Sciences Academic Units, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
¹⁸ Department of Dietetics, Salford Care Organisation, Salford, UK.
¹⁹ Department of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology, Medical University, Łódź, Poland.
²⁰ Department of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
²¹ Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
²² Clinic of Children's Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
²³ Department of Allergy, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, IdISSC, Madrid, Spain.
²⁴ School of Health Sciences, Centre for Health Informatics, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
²⁵ Departments of Experimental Immunology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁶ Departments of Experimental Immunology and of Otorhinolaryngology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁷ Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
²⁸ Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
²⁹ State Institute of Health, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Bad Kissingen, Germany.
³⁰ Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

PMID: 32219884
DOI: 10.1111/all.14290

Multicenter Study

Frequency of food allergy in school-aged children in eight European countries-The EuroPrevall-iFAAM birth cohort

Linus Grabenhenrich et al. Allergy. 2020 Sep.

. 2020 Sep;75(9):2294-2308.

doi: 10.1111/all.14290. Epub 2020 May 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department for Methodology and Research Infrastructure, Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany.
² Department of Dermatology, Venerology and Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
³ Department of Paediatric Pneumology, Immunology and Intensive Care, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ernst von Bergmann Academic Educational Hospital, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Epidemiology Unit, German Rheumatism Research Center, a Leibniz Institute, Berlin, Germany.
⁶ Department of Allergy, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain.
⁷ Department of Immunology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
⁸ Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
⁹ Children's Hospital Reykjavik, Reykjavik, Iceland.
¹⁰ Department of Allergy, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
¹¹ Division of Infection, Immunity & Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
¹² Allergy Department, 2nd Paediatric Clinic, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
¹³ Department of Pediatric Pulmonology & Pediatric Allergology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
¹⁴ Department of Pediatric Pulmonology & Pediatric Allergology, Emma Kinderziekenhuis AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
¹⁵ Clinical and Experimental Sciences and Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
¹⁶ NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
¹⁷ Clinical and Experimental Sciences Academic Units, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
¹⁸ Department of Dietetics, Salford Care Organisation, Salford, UK.
¹⁹ Department of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology, Medical University, Łódź, Poland.
²⁰ Department of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
²¹ Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
²² Clinic of Children's Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
²³ Department of Allergy, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, IdISSC, Madrid, Spain.
²⁴ School of Health Sciences, Centre for Health Informatics, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
²⁵ Departments of Experimental Immunology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁶ Departments of Experimental Immunology and of Otorhinolaryngology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁷ Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
²⁸ Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
²⁹ State Institute of Health, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Bad Kissingen, Germany.
³⁰ Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

PMID: 32219884
DOI: 10.1111/all.14290

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of food allergy (FA) among European school children is poorly defined. Estimates have commonly been based on parent-reported symptoms. We aimed to estimate the frequency of FA and sensitization against food allergens in primary school children in eight European countries.

Methods: A follow-up assessment at age 6-10 years of a multicentre European birth cohort based was undertaken using an online parental questionnaire, clinical visits including structured interviews and skin prick tests (SPT). Children with suspected FA were scheduled for double-blind, placebo-controlled oral food challenges (DBPCFC).

Results: A total of 6105 children participated in this school-age follow-up (57.8% of 10 563 recruited at birth). For 982 of 6069 children (16.2%), parents reported adverse reactions after food consumption in the online questionnaire. Of 2288 children with parental face-to-face interviews and/or skin prick testing, 238 (10.4%) were eligible for a DBPCFC. Sixty-three foods were challenge-tested in 46 children. Twenty food challenges were positive in 17 children, including seven to hazelnut and three to peanut. Another seventy-one children were estimated to suffer FA among those who were eligible but refused DBPCFC. This yielded prevalence estimates for FA in school age between 1.4% (88 related to all 6105 participants of this follow-up) and 3.8% (88 related to 2289 with completed eligibility assessment).

Interpretation: In primary school children in eight European countries, the prevalence of FA was lower than expected even though parents of this cohort have become especially aware of allergic reactions to food. There was moderate variation between centres hampering valid regional comparisons.

Keywords: IgE; birth cohort study; epidemiology; food allergy; prevalence.

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References

REFERENCES

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1. Rona RJ, Keil T, Summers C, et al. The prevalence of food allergy: a meta-analysis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007;120(3):638-646.
1. Nwaru BI, Hickstein L, Panesar SS, et al. The epidemiology of food allergy in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Allergy. 2014;69(1):62-75.
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Frequency of food allergy in school-aged children in eight European countries-The EuroPrevall-iFAAM birth cohort

Affiliations

Frequency of food allergy in school-aged children in eight European countries-The EuroPrevall-iFAAM birth cohort

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

REFERENCES

Publication types

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LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical