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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Mar 23;15(7):1564.
doi: 10.3390/nu15071564.

A Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Wheat Allergy Worldwide

Wenfeng Liu  1   2   3   4 , Yong Wu  3   4 , Jian Wang  1   2   3   4 , Zhongliang Wang  1   2   3   4 , Jinyan Gao  2   4 , Juanli Yuan  1   4   5 , Hongbing Chen  1   3   4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

A Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Wheat Allergy Worldwide

Wenfeng Liu et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Wheat allergy is a primary disease of food allergy, and its global prevalence is unclear. This study aimed to characterize the latest worldwide prevalence of wheat allergy based on five different diagnostic methods. Study searches were conducted in Web of Science, PubMed, Ovid LWW, and Cochrane database, with a time limit of 1 January 2007 to 1 September 2022. The review and screening of the articles was undertaken by two independent reviewers. The statistical analysis was conducted by R. A total of 56 articles were finally included. The prevalence of wheat allergy was 0.63% (95% CI: 0.43-0.87%) for self-reported, 0.70% (95% CI: 0.18-1.22%) for self-reported physician-diagnosed, 0.22% (95%CI: 0.07-0.65%) for skin prick test positive, 0.97% (95% CI: 0.43-2.20%) for specific immunoglobulin E positive, and 0.04% (95% CI: 0-0.16%) for food challenge. However, food challenge can be largely subjective, and the results were only based two countries, so the prevalence of wheat allergy confirmed by food challenge may be not entirely trustworthy. In conclusion, investigating the prevalence of wheat allergy in the real world as accurately as possible will contribute to the prevention, management, and risk assessment of wheat allergy.

Keywords: meta-analysis; prevalence; wheat allergy; worldwide.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart for studies on the prevalence of wheat allergy, 1 January 2007–1 September 2022.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The prevalence of self-reported wheat allergy; (A): the subgroup analysis for age; (B): the subgroup analysis for economy; (C): the subgroup analysis for region, (D): the subgroup analysis for timespan [18,19,21,23,26,27,28,30,31,32,34,35,36,37,41,42,44,46,47,49,50,51,54,55,56,57,59,62,63,66,67,68,70,71,72].
Figure 2
Figure 2
The prevalence of self-reported wheat allergy; (A): the subgroup analysis for age; (B): the subgroup analysis for economy; (C): the subgroup analysis for region, (D): the subgroup analysis for timespan [18,19,21,23,26,27,28,30,31,32,34,35,36,37,41,42,44,46,47,49,50,51,54,55,56,57,59,62,63,66,67,68,70,71,72].
Figure 2
Figure 2
The prevalence of self-reported wheat allergy; (A): the subgroup analysis for age; (B): the subgroup analysis for economy; (C): the subgroup analysis for region, (D): the subgroup analysis for timespan [18,19,21,23,26,27,28,30,31,32,34,35,36,37,41,42,44,46,47,49,50,51,54,55,56,57,59,62,63,66,67,68,70,71,72].
Figure 2
Figure 2
The prevalence of self-reported wheat allergy; (A): the subgroup analysis for age; (B): the subgroup analysis for economy; (C): the subgroup analysis for region, (D): the subgroup analysis for timespan [18,19,21,23,26,27,28,30,31,32,34,35,36,37,41,42,44,46,47,49,50,51,54,55,56,57,59,62,63,66,67,68,70,71,72].
Figure 3
Figure 3
The prevalence of self-reported physician diagnosed wheat allergy; (A): the subgroup analysis for age; (B): the subgroup analysis for economy; (C): the subgroup analysis for region, (D): the subgroup analysis for timespan [17,18,27,37,51,56,63].
Figure 4
Figure 4
The prevalence of wheat allergy for skin prick test positive; (A): the subgroup analysis for economy; (B): the subgroup analysis for region, (C): the subgroup analysis for timespan [20,22,24,25,38,43,52,61].
Figure 5
Figure 5
The prevalence of wheat allergy for sIgE positive; (A): the subgroup analysis for age; (B): the subgroup analysis for economy; (C): the subgroup analysis for region, (D): the subgroup analysis for timespan [25,38,39,40,45,48,53,58,64,65,69].
Figure 6
Figure 6
The prevalence of wheat allergy confirmed by food challenge (A): the subgroup analysis for region, (B): the subgroup analysis for timespan [29,52,60].
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