How Common Are Food Allergies?

JAMA Network Open

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 11 A.M. (ET), FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2019

Media advisory: To contact corresponding study author Ruchi S. Gupta, M.D., M.P.H., email Vita Lerman at [email protected]. The full study is available on the For The Media website.

Want to embed a link to this study in your story?: Links will be live at the embargo time http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.5630

About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is the new online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. Every Friday, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.

Bottom Line: Survey data suggest at least 1 in 10 U.S. adults are food allergic and nearly 1 in 5 believe they have a food allergy. Food allergies are expensive and potentially life-threatening conditions. In this nationally representative survey study of more than 40,000 U.S. adults, nearly half of food-allergic adults developed allergies during adulthood, many reported being allergic to multiple foods, and 38 percent reported at least one food allergy–related emergency department visit in their lifetime. Shellfish allergy was the most common, followed by milk, peanut, tree nut and fin fish. Self-reported food allergies by study participants weren’t confirmed by diagnosis.

Authors: Ruchi S. Gupta, M.D., M.P.H., Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago, and coauthors

To Learn More: The full study is available on the For The Media website.

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.5630)

Editor’s Note: The article contains conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

#  #  #

For more information, contact JAMA Network Media Relations at 312-464-JAMA (5262) or email [email protected].