Food allergies can be deadly, and they're not going away any time soon. In fact, food allergies seem to actually be increasing in children. That's not all, either; a new study has shown that the problem is doubling among black children.
Food allergies are abnormal reactions to food that's triggered by the immune system. For example, being allergic to milk is different from not being able to digest it properly due to lactose intolerance, according to WebMD. Usually, these allergies involve two features of the human immune response-the production of immunoglobulin (IgE), a type of protein called an antibody, and the production of the mast cell, a specific type of cell that is especially common in areas of your body where allergic reactions occur.
In this latest study, the researchers analyzed 452,237 children from 1988 to 2011, according to Utah People's Post. In the end, the researchers found that food allergies were increasing among black children at a rate of 2.1 percent per decade. In contrast, allergies increased at a rate of 1.2 percent among Hispanic children and 1 percent among white children.
"Our research found a striking food allergy trend that needs to be further evaluated to discover the cause," said Corinne Keet, one of the researchers, in an interview with NewsMedical. "Although African Americans generally have higher levels of IgE, the antibody the immune system creates more of when one has an allergy, it is only recently they have reported food allergy more frequently than white children. Whether the observed increase is due to better recognition of food allergy or is related to environmental changes remains an open question."
While the increase in food allergies could be due to the fact that diagnoses are getting more accurate, the increase could also be partly due to the fact that children are being exposed to more materials that could cause allergies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have actually posted guidelines when it comes to curbing the problem, according to Utah People's Post. These include restricting, nuts, shellfish or other foods that can cause allergic reactions.
