TY - JOUR
T1 - Frequency of food allergy in Europe
T2 - an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Spolidoro, Giulia C I
AU - Tesfaye Amera, Yohannes
AU - Ali, Mohamed Mustafa
AU - Nyassi, Sungkutu
AU - Lisik, Daniil
AU - Ioannidou, Athina
AU - Rovner, Graciela
AU - Khaleva, Ekaterina
AU - Venter, Carina
AU - van Ree, Ronald
AU - Worm, Margitta
AU - Vlieg-Boerstra, Berber
AU - Sheikh, Aziz
AU - Muraro, Antonella
AU - Roberts, Graham
AU - Nwaru, Bright I
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was funded through an unrestricted grant from DBV Technologies SA. The funders had no influence on the design of the study, interpretation of findings, or the decision to publish. BN acknowledges the support of Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the VBG Group Herman Krefting Foundation on Asthma and Allergy.
Funding Information:
Carina Venter reports: grants (Reckitt Benckiser, Food Allergy Research and Education, and National Peanut Board) and personal fees (Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle Nutrition Institute, Danone, Abbott Nutrition, Else Nutrition, Sifter, and Before Brands). Ronald van Ree reports: consultancies (HAL Allergy BV, Citeq BV, Angany Inc., Reacta Healthcare Ltd., Mission MightyMe, and AB Enzymes), speaker's fees (HAL Allergy BV, ThermoFisher Scientific, and ALK), and stock options (Angany Inc.). Margitta Worm reports: grants and personal fees (Stallergens, HAL Allergie, Bencard Allergie, Allergopharma, ALK‐Abello, Mylan Germany, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Deutschland, Biotest, AbbVie Deutschland, Lilly Deutschland Aimmune, DBV Technologies SA, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Aventis, Leo Pharma, Novartis, and Viatris) outside of the submitted work and being past WAO co‐chair of the anaphylaxis committee and past chair of the food allergy interest group of EAACI. Berber Vlieg‐Boerstra reports: personal fees (Marfo Food Group, Nestlé, and Nutricia) and grants (Nutricia). Antonella Muraro reports: grants and speaker's fees (Aimmune), speaker's fees (DVB Technologies SA, Viatris [Mylan], ALK, and Nestlé), and being member of the Executive Committee of GA2LEN and past president of EAACI. Graham Roberts reports grants (Asthma UK and National Institutes of Health Research). Bright I, Nwaru reports unrestricted grants and personal fees from DBV Technologies and AstraZeneca, respectively. Giulia C.I. Spolidoro, Yohannes Tesfaye Amera, Mohamed Mustafa Ali, Sungkutu Nyassi, Daniil Lisik, Athina Ioannidou report fee from ACT Institutet Sweden. The other authors report no conflicting interests related to this work. The funder played no role in the content and decision to submit this manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Allergy published by European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2022/10/22
Y1 - 2022/10/22
N2 - Food allergy (FA) is increasingly reported in Europe, however the latest prevalence estimates were based on studies published a decade ago. The present work provides the most updated estimates of the prevalence and trends of FA in Europe. Databases were searched for studies published between 2012 and 2021, added to studies published up to 2012. In total, 110 studies were included in this update. Most studies were graded as moderate risk of bias. Pooled lifetime and point prevalence of self-reported FA were 19.9% (95% CI 16.6-23.3) and 13.1% (95% CI 11.3-14.8), respectively. The point prevalence of sensitization based on specific IgE (slgE) was 16.6% (95% CI 12.3-20.8), skin prick test (SPT) 5.7% (95% CI 3.9-7.4), and positive food challenge 0.8% (95% CI 0.5-0.9). While lifetime prevalence of self-reported FA and food challenge positivity only slightly changed, the point prevalence of self-reported FA, sIgE and SPT positivity increased from previous estimates. This may reflect a real increase, increased awareness, increased number of foods assessed, or increased number of studies from countries with less data in the first review. Future studies require rigorous designs and implementation of standardized methodology in diagnosing FA, including use of double-blinded placebo-controlled food challenge to minimize potential biases.
AB - Food allergy (FA) is increasingly reported in Europe, however the latest prevalence estimates were based on studies published a decade ago. The present work provides the most updated estimates of the prevalence and trends of FA in Europe. Databases were searched for studies published between 2012 and 2021, added to studies published up to 2012. In total, 110 studies were included in this update. Most studies were graded as moderate risk of bias. Pooled lifetime and point prevalence of self-reported FA were 19.9% (95% CI 16.6-23.3) and 13.1% (95% CI 11.3-14.8), respectively. The point prevalence of sensitization based on specific IgE (slgE) was 16.6% (95% CI 12.3-20.8), skin prick test (SPT) 5.7% (95% CI 3.9-7.4), and positive food challenge 0.8% (95% CI 0.5-0.9). While lifetime prevalence of self-reported FA and food challenge positivity only slightly changed, the point prevalence of self-reported FA, sIgE and SPT positivity increased from previous estimates. This may reflect a real increase, increased awareness, increased number of foods assessed, or increased number of studies from countries with less data in the first review. Future studies require rigorous designs and implementation of standardized methodology in diagnosing FA, including use of double-blinded placebo-controlled food challenge to minimize potential biases.
KW - Europe
KW - epidemiology
KW - food allergy
KW - sensitization
KW - systematic review
U2 - 10.1111/all.15560
DO - 10.1111/all.15560
M3 - Review article
C2 - 36271775
JO - Allergy
JF - Allergy
SN - 0105-4538
ER -