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Published on: August 21, 2015
The Prevalence of Food Allergies in Children Referred to a Multidisciplinary Feeding Program
Karla Au Yeung1, Tessa Taylor2, Ann Scheimann3
1Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA kauyeun1@jhmi.edu.
Insights
Food allergy is prevalent in children attending feeding programs, with 40% diagnosed. Breastfeeding showed a correlation with food allergy likelihood in this pediatric group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Gastroenterology
- Clinical Nutrition
Background:
- Food allergy is a significant concern in pediatric populations.
- Multidisciplinary feeding programs manage complex cases including nutritional and allergic issues.
- Prevalence data in specialized feeding programs is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of food allergy among children in a multidisciplinary feeding program.
- To identify potential correlations between feeding history and food allergy diagnosis.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of 302 patients in a feeding program.
- Data collected included food reaction history, atopic family history, allergy testing, and feeding methods.
- Patients stratified into three categories based on evidence of food allergy.
Main Results:
- Overall, 40% of children were classified within a food allergy group (18% possible, 6% likely, 16% very likely).
- Breastfeeding history was associated with a higher likelihood of food allergy.
- Tube-feeding dependence did not correlate with food allergy likelihood.
Conclusions:
- Children in feeding programs exhibit a higher prevalence of food allergy than the general pediatric population.
- Further prospective research is necessary to validate the association between feeding program attendance and food allergy.
- Findings highlight the importance of screening for food allergy in this clinical setting.
Objective:
To assess the prevalence of food allergy in children presenting to a multidisciplinary feeding program.
Methods:
A retrospective chart review was conducted from 302 patients. We recorded history of food reaction, family history of any atopic disease, radioallergosorbent testing, prematurity, birth weight, breastfeeding history, Z-scores, age, and gastrointestinal mucosal biopsy reports with eosinophilic infiltrate. Three categories of possible food allergy were stratified based on increasing evidence of allergy.
Results:
Possible food allergy was found for 18% (n = 54), likely food allergy for 6% (n = 18), and very likely food allergy for 16% (n = 47) for a total of 40% classified in a food allergy group. Having been breastfed correlated with likelihood of food allergy but tube-feeding dependence did not.
Conclusion:
This study revealed a higher proportion of children in a feeding program with food allergy compared to the general population, but larger prospective studies are needed to confirm the association.
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