[Phenotypes and endotypes of food allergy]

Food allergy is a common event, especially in the pediatric population, affecting between 3-6% of children. There are various challenges in the care of patients with food allergy, but certainly the diversity of symptoms and the outcome of the disease are important aspects in the treatment of patients, in the development of care guidelines and in the knowledge of the Natural history of disease. The classification into phenotypes allows a better understanding of the evolution of food allergy. The endotype is a subtype of a phenotype defined by its pathophysiological characteristic. Genetic, epigenetic, and environmental characteristics interfere with the construction of the phenotype and its possible endotypes. Understanding the phenotypes and endotypes of food allergies brings with it two fundamental aspects: 1) the need to understand that the analysis of phenotypes and endotypes in food allergies will allow establishing prognoses and helping in intervention with specific therapies, and 2) the importance of understanding The characterization of local endotypes and phenotypes, and the dietary diversity of the different countries that make up Latin America brings with it a varied menu of foods that may pose a risk of allergy that needs to be studied.