The multinational birth cohort of EuroPrevall: background, aims and methods

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
• Epidemiology
• Translational Research

Background:

• Accurate prevalence and risk factors for childhood food allergies remain unknown due to reliance on subjective assessments and non-standardized diagnostic tests.
• Previous population studies often lacked consistent use of the gold standard diagnostic method: double-blind placebo-controlled food provocation tests.
• This highlights the need for a robust birth cohort study employing precise diagnostic criteria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a multi-center birth cohort study across Europe to investigate the prevalence and influential factors of confirmed food allergies in children.
• To implement standardized diagnostic protocols, including double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges, for accurate allergy confirmation.
• To gather comprehensive data on risk factors, quality-of-life, and economic impact associated with childhood food allergies.

Main Methods:

• Recruited over 12,000 newborns across nine European countries between 2005-2009 within the EuroPrevall project.
• Employed a multi-modal data collection strategy including telephone interviews and immediate reporting of suspected allergic reactions.
• Conducted clinical evaluations with double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge tests for suspected cases, alongside immunological and genetic assessments.

Main Results:

• Confirmed food allergies through rigorous clinical evaluation and double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge tests.
• Assessed food allergen sensitization using specific serum immunoglobulin E and skin prick tests.
• Collected biological samples (blood, saliva, buccal swabs, breast milk) for genetic and molecular analyses, and evaluated quality-of-life and economic burden.

Conclusions:

• The birth cohort provides unprecedented data on the prevalence, risk factors, quality-of-life, and costs of food allergies in European children.
• Findings will facilitate the development of more informed and integrated preventative and treatment strategies for pediatric food allergies.
• This study establishes a foundation for future research and clinical interventions in childhood food allergy management.