By Jade Glen
Childhood allergies are on the rise across the globe, but Australia takes the cake – so long as the proverbial cake is egg, nut and wheat-free.
Australian kids are more likely to have food allergies than their international peers, according to new research by the Australian Centre of Food and Allergy Research.
The study followed 5276 Australian children from age one to four.
As one-year-olds, 11 per cent of children had a challenge-confirmed food allergy, dwindling to 3.8 per cent at age four.
Reduction of egg allergy was the main driver of this change, dropping from 9.5 per cent to 1.2 per cent.
Peanut allergies also fell, but remained the most prevalent food allergy in four-year-olds.
The new results, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, reflect previous research which has shown about 20 per cent of children will outgrow peanut allergy and 80 per cent will develop tolerance to egg.
The prevalence of asthma, eczema and hayfever in four-year-olds was also measured, said the study’s lead author Dr Rachel Peters from MCRI.
Asthma prevalence was 10.8 per cent, eczema was 16 per cent and hay fever 8.3 per cent, Dr Peters said.
“Overall, 40 to 50 per cent of this population-based cohort experienced symptoms of any allergic disease in the first four years of their life,” she said.
“Although the prevalence of food allergy decreased between ages one and four, the prevalence of any allergic disease among four-year-old children is still remarkably high.”
Senior author Prof Katie Allen said the study results were among the most robust in the world as they were derived from a large sample size, a high response rate from participants and relied on the gold-standard oral food challenges to measure allergies.
Other non-food allergies were measured by questioning parents about whether their children had been diagnosed by a doctor and experienced symptoms of asthma, eczema or hayfever in the past year.
Prof Allen said there had been an increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases internationally, initially marked by a rise in asthma, eczema and hayfever, peaking in the 1990s and 2000s.
“This was followed by the second wave of the allergy epidemic with an increase in reported food allergies over the last two decades. Allergies are now recognised as a significant public health concern,” Prof Allen said.
Children in the study will now be followed up at age six and 10.
