A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that approximately 3 million U.S. Children and teenagers under the age of 18, nearly four percent of this age group, were reported to have a food or digestive allergy. The study examined reports of such allergies in 2007, demonstrating a rise from 2.3 million in 1997.

The findings are published in a new data brief, "Food Allergy Among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and Hospitalizations." The data are from the National Health Interview Survey and the National Hospital Discharge Survey, both conducted by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

The report determined that eight types of food account for 90 percent of all food allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. Allergic reactions to these foods by can be expressed from the mild, such as a tingling sensation around the mouth and lips, to more severe reactions including hives and even death.
The report also stated that children with food allergy are two to four times more likely to have other related conditions such as asthma and other allergies, compared to children without food allergies.

Other highlights in the report including the following:

Boys and girls had similar rates of food allergy - 3.8 percent for boys and 4.1 percent for girls. Approximately 4.7 percent of children younger than 5 years had a reported food allergy compared to 3.7 percent of children and teens aged 5 to 17 years.

Hispanic children had lower rates of reported food allergy (3.1 percent) than non-Hispanic white (4.1 percent) or non-Hispanic black children (4 percent.)

In 2007, 29 percent of children with food allergy also had reported asthma compared to 12 percent of children without food allergy.

Approximately 27 percent of children with food allergy had reported eczema or skin allergy, compared to 8 percent of children without food allergy.

Over 30 percent of children with food allergy also had reported respiratory allergy, compared with 9 percent of children with no food allergy.

From 2004 to 2006, there were approximately 9,537 hospital discharges per year with a diagnosis related to food allergy among children from birth to 17 years. Hospital discharges with a diagnosis related to food allergy increased significantly over time between 1998-2000 through 2004-2006.

While how a person develops allergies to specific foods is still largely, unknown, food allergies are more prevalent in children than adults. Most affected children will outgrow food allergies, although food allergy can be a lifelong concern.

The full report is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs

Adapted from a press release by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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