TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence and Characteristics of Shellfish Allergy in the Pediatric Population of the United States
AU - Wang, Helen T.
AU - Warren, Christopher M.
AU - Gupta, Ruchi S.
AU - Davis, Carla M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Conflicts of interest: R. S. Gupta received a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (grant no. R21AI135702 ). C.M. Davis received grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease , Allakos , Regeneron Pharmaceuticals , and DBV Technologies, Inc . The rest of the authors declare that they have no relevant conflicts of interest.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020
PY - 2020/4
Y1 - 2020/4
N2 - Background: Shellfish allergy (SA) is one of the most common food allergies causing anaphylaxis in adults and children. There are limited data showing the prevalence of SA in US children. Objective: To determine the prevalence and reaction characteristics of SA in the US pediatric population. Methods: A cross-sectional food allergy prevalence survey was administered via phone and the Web by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago from 2015 to 2016. Point prevalence SA estimates, complex survey weighted proportions, and 95% CIs were determined. Relative proportions of demographic characteristics were compared using weighted Pearson χ2 statistics. Results: The prevalence of SA was 1.3% (95% CI, 1.1-1.5), with more children allergic to crustaceans (1.2%; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3) than to mollusks (0.5%; 95% CI, 0.4-0.6). Mean ages of shellfish, crustacean, and mollusk allergy diagnoses were 5.0 (95% CI, 4.4-5.6), 5.1 (95% CI, 4.6-5.6), and 7.7 (95% CI, 5.7-9.7) years, respectively. More than half (54.9%; 95% CI, 48.1-61.4) of pediatric patients with SA had more than 1 lifetime food allergy–related emergency room visit, but only 45.7% (95% CI, 39.2-52.4) carried an epinephrine autoinjector. Children with SA were more likely to be black/Hispanic/Latino and have comorbid asthma, allergic rhinitis, or a parental history of asthma, environmental, or other food allergies (P <.001). Conclusions: The epidemiology of SA in the US pediatric population shows that crustacean allergy is more common than mollusk allergy. A disparity in SA children and epinephrine autoinjector carriage exists. Results from this study will lead to increased awareness of the need for detailed histories, specific diagnostic tests, and rescue epinephrine for anaphylaxis in US children with SA.
AB - Background: Shellfish allergy (SA) is one of the most common food allergies causing anaphylaxis in adults and children. There are limited data showing the prevalence of SA in US children. Objective: To determine the prevalence and reaction characteristics of SA in the US pediatric population. Methods: A cross-sectional food allergy prevalence survey was administered via phone and the Web by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago from 2015 to 2016. Point prevalence SA estimates, complex survey weighted proportions, and 95% CIs were determined. Relative proportions of demographic characteristics were compared using weighted Pearson χ2 statistics. Results: The prevalence of SA was 1.3% (95% CI, 1.1-1.5), with more children allergic to crustaceans (1.2%; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3) than to mollusks (0.5%; 95% CI, 0.4-0.6). Mean ages of shellfish, crustacean, and mollusk allergy diagnoses were 5.0 (95% CI, 4.4-5.6), 5.1 (95% CI, 4.6-5.6), and 7.7 (95% CI, 5.7-9.7) years, respectively. More than half (54.9%; 95% CI, 48.1-61.4) of pediatric patients with SA had more than 1 lifetime food allergy–related emergency room visit, but only 45.7% (95% CI, 39.2-52.4) carried an epinephrine autoinjector. Children with SA were more likely to be black/Hispanic/Latino and have comorbid asthma, allergic rhinitis, or a parental history of asthma, environmental, or other food allergies (P <.001). Conclusions: The epidemiology of SA in the US pediatric population shows that crustacean allergy is more common than mollusk allergy. A disparity in SA children and epinephrine autoinjector carriage exists. Results from this study will lead to increased awareness of the need for detailed histories, specific diagnostic tests, and rescue epinephrine for anaphylaxis in US children with SA.
KW - Children
KW - Crustacean allergy
KW - Mollusk allergy
KW - Prevalence
KW - Shellfish allergy
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jaip.2019.12.027
DO - 10.1016/j.jaip.2019.12.027
M3 - Article
C2 - 31917365
AN - SCOPUS:85078493761
SN - 2213-2198
VL - 8
SP - 1359-1370.e2
JO - Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice
JF - Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice
IS - 4
ER -