The frequency of food allergy in Australia and Asia
Introduction
There has been a widespread recognition of an increase in the prevalence of atopic illness throughout the world. However data on the prevalence of food allergy has not been systematically studied in general populations in this region and the prevalence must be estimated from selected populations. The region is heterogeneous and contains over a quarter of the world's population. There is cultural, racial and dietary diversity.
Section snippets
Food allergy in Australia
The population of Australia consists of 18 million. The country is divided into six states and territories. The ethnic background is mainly European and Middle Eastern with an increasing Asian (Chinese and Vietnamese) component. This study on food allergy is based in Victoria, Australia. Victoria has a population of 3.5 million and is representative of the overall Australian population. There are approximately 900 000 children under 15, and there are approximately 60 000 live births per year.
An
Food allergy in Asia
Little is known about the incidence and prevalence of food allergy in Asian countries despite the large proportion of the world's population they represent. Data is often reported in local journals that are not accessible to conventional literature searches in the English language. With limited reports available, objective assessments such as double-blind placebo-control food challenges are often lacking and definition of various food related allergic reactions are not robust enough to allow
Concluding remarks
Despite the limitations of the different methodologies used, our impression is that the patterns of food allergy to common foods is similar in Australia and Asia. Based on the food challenge studies from Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, hypersensitivity to milk and egg are the commonest food allergens. Soy, wheat and peanut hypersensitivity are next commonest, but rice allergy is rare. In countries where seafoods are part of the staple diet, hypersensitivity to these
Acknowledgements
The assistance of Joan Sedmak, Dr Somsak Wassanaroongroj (Thailand) and Dr Richard Sporik is gratefully acknowledged.
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