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Seo, Lee, Yang, Lee, and Lee: Food allergic reactions in the community: a questionnaire survey of caregivers

Abstract

Purpose

Food allergies are adverse immune reactions to food. Despite their importance, there have only been a few studies conducted on situations that may cause food allergies in Korean children. This study aims to obtain basic data that are necessary to provide information on food allergies to both patients and caregivers.

Methods

In this study, a survey was conducted on 97 caregivers of patients below 18 years old. The patients' situation upon occurrence of food allergy was examined by a questionnaire.

Results

Approximately 89.7% of the patients were at 6 years of age or younger. The most common allergens were eggs (37%) and milk (28%) in a total of 163 cases, including multiple responses. Skin symptoms were most common (77.8%). At the time of occurrence, 85% of the patients were with their parents. As for the exposure place, house was 65%, followed by restaurant (16%), nursery (7%), and relative's or neighbor's house (4%). Exclusive of unknown cases, the most common reason of exposure was the caregiver giving the food to the patient for reconfirmation (13.6%).

Conclusion

It is concluded that the understanding of food allergies based on this research will assist in the management of patients with food allergies.

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Clinical characteristics of the study subjects (n=97)

aard-5-27-i001
Variable No. (%)
Sex
 Male 55 (56.7)
 Female 42 (43.3)
Age (yr)
 <2 40 (41.2)
 2–6 47 (48.5)
 7–15 10 (10.3)
Comorbidity* (n = 106)
 Atopic dermatitis 78 (73.5)
 Recurrent wheezing 11 (10.4)
 None 17 (16.1)
Parental allergic disease* 107/194 (55.2)
 Father, yes 58/97 (59.8)
 Mother, yes 49/97 (50.5)
Food trigger* (n = 172)
 Egg 63 (36.6)
 Milk 48 (27.9)
 Tree nut 21 (12.2)
  Walnut 15 (8.7)
  Almond 4 (2.3)
  Hazelnut 2 (1.2)
 Wheat 10 (5.8)
 Peanut 7 (4.1)
 Shellfish 6 (3.5)
 Soy 4 (2.3)
 Buckwheat 2 (1.2)
 Fish 2 (1.2)
 Sesame 2 (1.2)
 Fruit 4 (2.3)
 Unknown 3 (1.7)

Values are presented as number (%).

*Multiple answer.

Table 2

Clinical manifestations of food allergy

aard-5-27-i002
Symptom (n = 257) No. (%)
Skin* 200/257 (77.8)
 Angioedema 66 (25.7)
 Urticaria 61 (23.7)
 Rash 45 (17.5)
 Aggravation of atopic dermatitis 28 (10.9)
Respiratory* 40/257 (15.6)
 Cough 17 (6.6)
 Dyspnea 12 (4.7)
 Wheezing 11 (4.3)
Gastrointestinal* 17/257 (6.6)
 Vomiting 13 (5.1)
 Abdominal pain 4 (1.6)
Anaphylaxis (n = 97)
 Yes 19 (19.6)
 No 78 (80.4)

Values are presented as number (%).

*Multiple answer.

Table 3

Factors related to exposure to food trigger*

aard-5-27-i003
Variable No. (%)
Exposure route (n = 106)
 Oral 93 (87.7)
 Skin 10 (9.4)
 Inhale 3 (2.8)
Caregiver at time of exposure (n = 102)
 Parent 87 (85.3)
 Grandparent 8 (7.8)
 Teacher 4 (3.9)
 None 3 (2.9)
Place of exposure (n = 113)
 Home 73 (64.6)
 Restaurant 19 (16.8)
 Daycare center 8 (7.1)
 Relatives 5 (4.4)
 Neighbor 4 (3.5)
 School 2 (1.8)
 Hospital 2 (1.8)

Values are presented as number (%).

*Multiple answer.

Table 4

The causes of exposure to food triggers* (n=154)

aard-5-27-i004
Cause of exposure to food triggers No. (%)
Unknown patients' food allergies 57 (37.1)
Caregivers sought to reconfirm while they were avoiding the triggers. 21 (13.6)
Caregivers understood the food labels incorrectly. 16 (10.4)
Patients eat the food themselves. 15 (9.7)
Patients were exposed to the foods while eating at a restaurant. 14 (9.1)
Alternative caregivers were not aware of patients' food allergies. 13 (8.4)
Patients contacted food allergens with skin or inhaled. 8 (5.2)
Caregivers forgot about the patients' food allergies. 6 (3.9)
Allergic reaction from foods they usually consume 3 (1.9)
Unknown causes 1 (0.6)

*Multiple answer.

Table 5

Comparisons between complete avoidance and partial exposure

aard-5-27-i005
Variable Complete avoidance (n = 44) Partial exposure (n = 53) P-value
Symptom*
 Skin 75/99 (75.8) 128/181 (70.7)
 Respiratory 13/99 (13.1) 30/181 (16.6)
 Gastrointestinal 6/99 (6.1) 12/181 (6.6)
 Systemic 5/99 (5.1) 11/181 (6.1)
No. of triggers
 1 28/44 (63.6) 10/53 (18.7) < 0.001
 2 16/44 (36.4) 25/53 (47.3)
 ≥3 0/44 (0) 18/53 (34.0)

Values are presented as number (%).

*Multiple answer. Numbers of triggers were calculated by linear by linear association.

Table 6

Food label knowledge of caregivers

aard-5-27-i006
Food label knowledge No. (%)
Exactly know about food label 68 (70.1)
Do not know how to read food label 18 (18.6)
Do not know what is food label 11 (11.3)

Values are presented as number (%).

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So-Yeon Lee
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2499-0702

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