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SEATTLE – About 1.2 million children and adolescents in the United States – just over 2% of the non-adult population – have peanut allergies, according to new studies.
Two separate studies – one based on survey data and the other on a longitudinal analysis of a large database of health care claims – estimate that the current incidence of peanut allergies 2.2% among children and adolescents in the United States.
Among babies under 1 year old, one of the studies showed an increase of about three times the peanut allergy between 2001 and 2017, the most recent incidence being estimated at 5.2%.
Both studies have been reported here at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
The prevalence of food allergies, including peanut allergy, has risen relatively steadily in the United States in recent decades, but there is reason to believe that the burden of allergy to peanut in children and teens begins to stabilize, Jay Lieberman, MD, of LeBonheur Children's Hospital of Memphis, said MedPage today.
He added that new guidelines sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recommending the early introduction of peanuts (between 4 and 6 months) in children at high risk, should reduce the number of infant allergies to peanuts in the coming years.
"We can not say that with certainty for the moment, but it is hopeful if the guidelines are followed," he said.
In the study that he presented, he and his colleagues identified children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 years old with peanut allergy, with the help of codes. diagnosis and / or services indicating severe reactions associated with peanut allergy, such as anaphylaxis.
Prevalence estimates were projected, taking into account data entry rates by health care facility (40% outpatient, 25% hospital), 30% under-coding, and an insufficient number of patients (8% to 15%, depending on the age of the patient).
The estimated annual incidence was defined as a proportion of peanut allergies expressed as a percentage of all one-year-olds. The incidence of peanut allergies was calculated from estimates of prevalence, aging of 1 year old patients and adjustment for spontaneous growth of 12).
The main conclusions are:
- The estimated prevalence of peanut allergy was 1.25 million (2.2%) in 2017
- Among children and adolescents diagnosed with peanut allergy, approximately 500,000 were diagnosed by allergists; 370,000 by pediatricians and managed by allergists; and 380,000 were diagnosed and managed by practitioners other than allergists
- Common comorbidities included eczema (63%) and asthma (61%) and one or more additional food allergies (35%).
- The annual incidence of peanut allergies in children aged one year increased between 2001 and 2017, from about 1.7% to 5.2%
The researchers concluded that the increasing prevalence of peanut allergies in children and adolescents suggests that the impact of peanut allergy may be more important than that reported previously.
In the other study, Ruchi Gupta, MD, of Chicago's Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, and colleagues, used a nationally representative survey of 52,000 US households between 2015 and 2016, and also concluded that approximately 2.2% of children and adolescents in the United States have peanut allergies. These data showed the following in peanut allergic children:
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59.2% (95% CI, 53.6-64.6) had a severe reaction
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54.8% (95% CI, 49.1-60.3) had multiple food allergies
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73.0% (95% CI, 68.0 to 77.5) had a current epinephrine prescription
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50.4% (95% CI, 44.9-55.0) had at least one lifetime visit to an emergency department, 22.9% (95% CI, 19.1 to 27 , 2) having had an emergency visit during the last year.
Still according to Gupta and his co-authors, a new study is still needed to better understand the potential predictors of food allergy in adulthood.
The study by Lieberman and his colleagues was funded by Aimmune Therapeutics.
1969-12-31T19: 00: 00-0500
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