Food allergies increase in U.S. children

William Atkins
Tuesday, 17 November 2009 18:59

Science - Health

According to analysis of four large national health surveys by two U.S. researchers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 4% of children in the United States have food allergies. And, that percentage is increasing rapidly; however, the reason is unclear.


The article “Food Allergy Among Children in the United States” is authored by Amy M. Branum and Susan L. Lukacs, of the Infant, Child, and Women's Health Statistics Branch, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hyattsville, Maryland.

The paper was published online on November 16, 2009, and will appear in the December 2009 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

The two researchers wanted to measure the percentage of food allergies among U.S. children, and to estimate the trend with these allergies.

Thus, they surveyed food allergies among children less than eighteen years of age as reported within data from four large national health surveys.

These surveys are: the 1997-2007 National Health Interview Survey, the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the 1993-2006 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, and the 1998-2006 National Hospital Discharge Survey.

Drs. Branum and Lukacs found that, in 2007, 3.9% of children in the United States had reported a food allergy.

Furthermore, the two researchers found that food allergies among children had increased 18% from 1997 to 2007.

Other conclusions from the study are included on page two.