Background The atopic march is well documented, but the inter-relationship of food allergy (FA) and asthma is not well understood. Objective To examine the strength of the association and temporal relationships between food allergy and asthma. Methods This analysis included 271 children ≥6 years (older group) and 296 children <6 years (younger group) from a family-based FA cohort in Chicago, IL. Asthma was determined by parental report of physician diagnosis. FA status was determined based on type and timing of clinical symptoms after ingestion of a specific food, and results of prick skin test (Multi-Test II) and allergen specific IgE (Phadia ImmunoCAP). Analyses were carried out using logistic regression accounting for important covariates and autocorrelations among siblings. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare the time to onset of asthma by FA status. Results Symptomatic FA was associated with asthma in both older (OR=4.9, 95%CI:2.5–9.5) and younger children (OR=5.3, 95%CI:1.7–16.2). The association was stronger among children with multiple or severe food allergies, especially in older children. Children with FA developed asthma earlier and at higher prevalence than children without FA (Cox Proportional hazard ratio=3.7, 95%CI:2.2–6.3 for children ≥6 years and hazard ratio=3.3, 95%CI:1.1–10 for children <6 years of age). No associations were seen between asymptomatic food sensitization and asthma. Conclusions Independent of markers of atopy such as aeroallergen sensitization and family history of asthma, there was a significant association between FA and asthma. This association was even stronger in subjects with multiple food allergies or severe food allergy.

SummaryBackground-The increasing prevalence of food allergy (FA) is a growing clinical and public health problem. The contribution of genetic factors to FA remains largely unknown.

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