WHY HAVE FOOD ALLERGIES BECOME SO COMMON AND WHAT ARE THE MOST ACCURATE MEANS OF DIAGNOSIS?

Has the prevalence of food allergies truly increased or is there simply a more liberal diagnosis? Numerous studies using different methodologies now indicate an increase in prevalence of food allergies. 1 For example, peanut allergy appears to have tripled in prevalence in children in the United States from about 0.4% in 1997 to 1.4% in 2008. Remarkably, this increased rate matches recent studies in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Overall, 4% to 8% of children have food allergies. It is not likely that anaphylactic reactions were simply missed decades ago, and there is also evidence of increases in other allergic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis (hay fever), and atopic dermatitis (eczema); therefore, this increase appears to be quite real.