Allergy scares risk health - claim

Wednesday November 10th, 2010

Children who are avoiding certain foods because of a possible allergy may face a nutritional risk, experts have warned.

Dr David Fleischer of National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado, USA, and his team reviewed the cases of 125 children evaluated for suspected food allergies. Between 84 and 93 per cent of the foods which the children had been avoiding could safely be restored to their diets after the "gold standard" test - the oral food challenge.

Food avoidance is often based primarily on unreliable results from blood tests known as serum immunoassays, they explain in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Immunoassays look for antibodies to specific foods in the blood, yet interpretation of the results can be difficult and the tests' ability to predict true food allergies has only been confirmed for cow's milk, hen eggs, fish, peanuts and tree nuts.

Dr Fleischer said: "People with known food allergies, especially those with a history of anaphylactic reactions, should by all means avoid those foods. However, a growing number of patients referred to our practice are being placed on strict, unproven food-elimination diets that have led to poor weight gain and malnutrition.

"These overly-restrictive diets have been chosen for a variety of reasons, but overreliance on immunoassay tests appears to be the most common cause."

Several factors, such as patient and family history, physical exams, and blood and skin tests, should be used when evaluating potential food allergies. Dr Fleischer's team perform an oral food challenge when the evidence is mixed and they want a definitive answer to the food allergy question.

Fleischer, D. M. et al. Oral Food Challenges in Children with a Diagnosis of Food Allergy. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2010 (in press).

Tags: Allergies & Asthma | Child Health | Diet & Food | North America

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