Prevalence of food allergy among schoolchildren and its association with the coexistence and severity of asthma , rhinitis ,and eczema in damanhour city

Abstract

Background: Food Allergy (FA) is an issue of public health concern since it triggers life-threatening reactions. FA is an adverse immune reaction to a food allergen, mainly of protein nature. Aim: to assess the prevalence of food allergy with the coexistence and severity of asthma rhinitis and eczema in Damnhour city. Subjects and Methods: Schoolchildren aged 6–15 years (n 2140) were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Parents and children completed questionnaires regarding their children's early life exposures and clinical history of FA and allergic diseases. Associations were assessed using Poisson regression with robust variance estimation, and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. Results: The 12-month prevalence of study-defined FA was estimated to be 7.1% (150/2140), The mean age of the studied cases was 10.47±2.42 years, there was female predominance about 51.5%, fruits in 16.7%, cows milk in 13.3%, egg in 11.3%, chocolate in 10.7%, were the most reported offending food allergens. eosinophilia was 2.57±1.2, the mean total IgE was129.21±47.5 . The prevalence of eczema only was higher in children with study defined FA than in those without study-defined FA . In contrast, this association was not pronounced for children who had asthma only or rhinitis only. Moreover, study-defined FA was associated with increased severity of symptoms of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema. Conclusions: FA affects a considerable proportion of schoolchildren in damanhour city, and the most reported offending food allergens are similar to those reported in Western countries.