Natural course of IgE-mediated food allergy in children

Abstract

The prevalence of food allergy and food-induced anaphylaxis in children is increasing worldwide. Cow's milk, hen's eggs, and wheat allergies in young children have a more favorable prognosis with a relatively early outgrow, while allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood are more likely to be persistent. Although our understanding of the mechanism underlying the resolution of food allergy is incomplete, the roles of dendritic cells, regulatory T cells, and regulatory B cells are important. Many past studies on the natural course of food allergy were retrospective analyses of specific study groups, but large-scale population-based prospective studies are now being published. This review summarizes recent studies of the natural course of cow's milk, hen's eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, sesame, and seafood allergies. The potential factors affecting the natural course of food allergy include symptom severity on ingestion, age at diagnosis, allergic comorbidities, skin prick test reaction size or serum food-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E levels, changes in sensitization degree, IgE epitope specificity, ratio of food-specific IgE to IgG4, food-specific IgA levels, component-resolved diagnostic profile, diet, gut microbiome, and interventions such as immunotherapy. Since food allergy places a significant burden on patients and their caregivers in daily life, clinicians should be able to provide relevant knowledge on the natural course of food allergy, appropriately evaluate its resolution, and offer therapeutic options whenever possible.

Keywords: Allergens; Anaphylaxis; Food hypersensitivity; Immunoglobulin E; Natural history.

Fig. 1.

Suggested elements associated with the natural course of food allergies. sIgE, specific immunoglobulin E; SPT, skin prick test.

Fig. 2.

Factors related to the natural course of major food allergies. sIgE, specific immunoglobulin E; SPT, skin prick test.

Fig. 3.

Possible measures affecting the future of food allergies in children.