Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb;24(3):531-535.
doi: 10.1017/S1368980020003298. Epub 2020 Sep 14.

High prevalence of food intolerances among US internet users

Claire L Jansson-Knodell  1 , Mattie White  1 , Carolyn Lockett  1 , Huiping Xu  2 , Andrea Shin  1
Affiliations

High prevalence of food intolerances among US internet users

Claire L Jansson-Knodell et al. Public Health Nutr. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: Food intolerances are commonly reported and are predicted to have gastrointestinal health implications. We aimed to quantify the prevalence of food intolerances among US adults and identify culprit foods through a brief web-based survey.

Design: We invited participation in an online cross-sectional survey involving a single questionnaire. Data were summarised using percentages or medians and interquartile range. Participant characteristics by self-reported food intolerance were compared using the Wilcoxon rank sum test and Pearson's χ2 test. Adjusted analyses were performed using multivariable logistic regression.

Setting: The survey was internet-based via Amazon's mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing website for the completion of requester directed tasks.

Participants: Adults who were US-based internet users were invited at ages 18-80.

Results: We collected 2133 survey responses (ages 18-79 years). The rate of food intolerance was 24·8 % (95 % CI 23·0, 26·6) in US adults. Younger (P < 0·01), female (P = 0·05) and Asian, African American or multiple race individuals (P < 0·01) predominated. Lactose intolerance was most common. Frequency of a non-lactose food intolerance was 18·1 % (95 % CI 16·5, 19·8). When categorised broadly, grains, fruit, lactose, fish, vegetables, alcohol and nuts were most troublesome for individuals in that order.

Conclusions: Self-reported food intolerance is common in US internet users. The effect of food on gastrointestinal symptoms and avoidant behaviours deserves further attention.

Keywords: Food; Food intolerance; Lactose intolerance; Prevalence; Survey.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Food frequency among 529 participants with self-reported food intolerance
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Young E, Stoneham MD, Petruckevitch A et al. (1994) A population study of food intolerance. Lancet 343, 1127–1130. - PubMed
    1. Woods RK, Abramson M, Bailey M et al. (2001) International prevalences of reported food allergies and intolerances. Comparisons arising from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) 1991–1994. Eur J Clin Nutr 55, 298–304. - PubMed
    1. Gislason D, Bjoernsson E & Gislason T (2000) Allergy and intolerance to food in an Icelandic urban population 20–44 years of age. Laeknabladid 86, 851–857. - PubMed
    1. Puente-Fernandez C, Maya-Hernandez RL, Flores-Merino MV et al. (2016) Self-reported prevalence and risk factors associated with food hypersensitivity in Mexican young adults. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 523–527, e3. - PubMed
    1. Lomer MC (2015) Review article: the aetiology, diagnosis, mechanisms and clinical evidence for food intolerance. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 41, 262–275. - PubMed

Publication types