You're Allergic to What? New Food Allergens Emerging

[GoingNuts]

SAN ANTONIO — There is a difference in the patterns of food allergy between Asian Indian children living in the United States and white children, according to the first large-scale survey of food-allergic reactions in this population.

"There is a significant food-allergy burden in the Asian Indian population, so we need to make sure that we're addressing allergies unique to their ethnic diet," said investigator Opal Kamdar, MD, a third-year resident at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Dr Kamdar presented results from the Asian Indian Food Allergy Survey, which is still open online, here at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting.

The list of allergies in the Asian Indian children included the top eight allergens commonly seen in the general population, but there were also some more unusual ones.

The parents of 114 Asian Indian children with food allergies responded to the survey. Mean age at the time of the first allergy diagnosis was 3.3 years, and 66.7% of the children were boys. Respondents reported that 67.5% of the allergies were diagnosed by a doctor, 70.2% were diagnosed with blood or skin tests, and 29.8% were diagnosed with a food challenge.

  There were a lot of fruit and vegetable allergies, compared with what we normally see, and these were more common than seafood allergies, which was unusual. 
Tree nut, the most common allergy, was seen in 59% of the children. This is "unusual," Dr Kamdar pointed out, because it is not the most common allergy in the general population in the United States. "We think it might possibly be related to the fact that there are a lot of nuts in Indian cooking," she explained.


For instance, some of the Asian Indian children were allergic to besan, which is a chickpea flour, capsicum, which is a variant of green pepper, and Indian lentils, which are used in tur and masoor dals. Other allergens considered unique were avocado, banana, beef, bulgur wheat, coconut, corn, eggplant, food dye, garlic, ginger, green peas, jalapeno peppers, kiwi, melon, rice, and tomato.

"Even with a small number of respondents, we saw a big variety of foods," Dr Kamdar reported. "There were a lot of fruit and vegetable allergies, compared with what we normally see, and these were more common than seafood allergies, which was unusual."

Table. Characteristics of the Food-Allergic Children and Their Families

Characteristic   Children, %   Parents, %   Grandparents, %
Born in India   <2.0   50.0   100.0
Food allergy   100.0   11.0   5.4
Asthma   40.0   12.0   3.0
Eczema   68.4   9.3   3.8
Environmental allergy   56.1   38.2   13.2


"There is a general increase in atopic disease in the world," said Dr Kamdar. "The problem is we don't have good prevalence data in India right now to be able to say whether the increase that we're seeing here is migration-related or just a reflection of the worldwide increase."

"There is an increase that we see worldwide, so this fits with the natural history of atopic diseases," said Ellen Sher, MD, an allergist in private practice in Ocean, New Jersey.

However, the allergens reported in this study, "are not that different from what we see in the general population," she explained. "The allergies the investigators considered 'unique' — such as avocado and banana — we see that all the time. The newer things would be the ginger and the jalapeno paper. People just weren't exposed to these things before. It's good to identify these allergens and be aware that they're out there."

"The big thing that's happening now is that people are looking for 'natural' food and new food," added Bruce Prenner, MD, an allergist in private practice in San Diego.

He reported that quinoa and lentil are among the new allergies he is seeing.

Dr Sher pointed out that "seeds are also a big thing now," and added, "I've seen flaxseed allergy lately."

Dr Kamdar, Dr Sher, and Dr Prenner have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting: Abstract 240. Presented November 7, 2015.

[Macabre]

I think this is not surprising, but it's good to know. We've heard for years that around the world food allergies differ according to the foods that are typically eaten locally.

[spacecanada]

It makes sense to me, too.  For instance, rice allergy is more prevalent in eastern Asia, where rice is a major ingredient in traditional fare.  It is very rare in North America. 

With more immigrants, we'll start to see more of these types of allergens.  Definitely.