Natural History of Perceived Food Hypersensitivity and IgE Sensitisation to Food Allergens in a Cohort of Adults

• Main Authors: Antonios Patelis, Maria Gunnbjörnsdottir, Magnus P Borres, Peter Burney, Thorarinn Gislason, Kjell Torén, Bertil Forsberg, Kjell Alving, Andrei Malinovschi, Christer Janson
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0085333; https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0085333&type=printable

Background: No longitudinal studies exist on the natural history of food hypersensitivity and IgE sensitisation to food allergens in adults. Objective: To examine the natural history of food hypersensitivity, the natural history of IgE sensitisation to food allergens and to investigate the risk factors for new onset food hypersensitivity. Methods: Food hypersensitivity was questionnaire-assessed in 2307 individuals (aged 20–45 years) from Iceland and Sweden during the European Community Respiratory Health Survey both at baseline and follow-up 9 years later. IgE food and aeroallergen sensitisation were assessed in a subgroup of these individuals (n = 807). Values of 0.35 kU/L and above were regarded as positive sensitisation. Results: Food hypersensitivity was reported by 21% of the subjects and this proportion remained unchanged at follow-up (p = 0.58). Fruits, nuts and vegetables were the three most common causes of food hypersensitivity, with a similar prevalence at baseline and follow-up. The prevalence IgE sensitisation to food allergens decreased in general by 56% (p