Public perception of food allergy

The prevalence of plant food allergies: A systematic review

“…The subjective assessments varied from a minimum of 2 short questions to a 2-stage assessment including a screening questionnaire and an interview to confirm suspicion of FA. 5,36,37 Several studies determined perceived allergies to food groups, such as fruit or vegetables, but defined them differently: 1 study made a distinction between citrus fruit and noncitrus fruit, 6 whereas others examined perceived FA to any fruit 8,[16][17][18]21,48 or focused only on specific fruits. 5,19,26,27,30,36,37 Furthermore, there is a distinction between the botanical categorization of foods and the perception of the public (tomato is believed to be a vegetable; coconuts and peanuts are believed to be nuts).…”

“…We were able to include only 1 study from Asia 44 and identified only 1 study from the African continent, which we had to exclude because a combined estimate for perception of allergic reactions to fruit and vegetables was reported. 16,20,[38][39][40] The comparison of prevalence estimates from different studies, particularly for perception of allergic reactions, is hampered by using different types of prevalence such as point or period (eg, lifetime) prevalence.…”

“…13 Several studies reported a prevalence for perceived allergy to nuts, but the authors did not report whether peanuts were also included. 6,8,16,19,21,26,33 Some studies included children and adults but did not report age group-specific prevalence estimates. They were included under ''Adults'' if the study participants were predominantly adults.…”

Fish and shellfish allergy

“…In one survey of parents in Norway, adverse food reactions were reported in 30% of their children, nearly 3% of whom had a reaction attributable to fish by the age of 2 years [3]. Another survey reported that up to 15 million Americans suspect that they are allergic to foods [4]. Recent reports suggest that IgE-mediated food allergy affects nearly 4% of the United States population [5].…”

Prevalence of sensitization to food allergens, reported adverse reaction to foods, food avoidance, and food hypersensitivity among teenagers

“…The few studies that have investigated perception of FHS have reported large discrepancies between perceived and proved FHS. [4][5][6] When a child is referred to an allergy clinic with a possible diagnosis of food allergy, skin prick tests (SPTs) are often carried out as part of the diagnostic repertoire. 7,8 A positive SPT response to a food indicates sensitization to that food, and any positive SPT response reflects the atopic state of that individual (ie, genetic predisposition for allergies).…”