Food Allergies Are Major Problem For Children, Blacks, Males

The first U.S. study to use specific blood serum levels to look at food allergies in a nationally representative sample has found that 7.6 million Americans (2.5 percent) allergic to certain foods. Children, non-Hispanic blacks, and males had the highest rates of allergies; male black children had 4.4 times the risk. Researchers used specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) or antibody levels to determine allergic sensitivity to foods such as peanuts, milk, eggs, and shrimp. Allergies were highest (4.2 percent) among children 1 to 5 years, and lowest (1.3 percent) among adults over 60. Peanut allergies were in children ages 6 to 19. The findings should be helpful to public health policy makers, schools and day care facilities in allocating resources to treat food allergies, an NIH official said.