Table 2.

Prevalence of food sensitization in NHANES III and NHANES 2005–2006

Food Sensitization*	NHANES III Percentage (95% CI) (n = 4995**)	NHANES 2005–2006 Percentage (95% CI) (n = 2901)	p value†
Milk
Overall	8.3 (7.0 – 9.8)	8.1 (6.1 – 10.2)	0.90
Moderate-level	0.4 (0.1 – 0.7)	0.5 (0.1 – 0.9)	0.70
High-level	0	0.008 (−0.01 – 0.03)	0.33
Egg
Overall	3.2 (2.5 – 4.0)	4.0 (2.9 – 5.1)	0.2
Moderate-level	0.04 (0.007 – 0.08)	0.2 (−0.004 – 0.5)	0.09
High-level	0	0.05 (−0.01 – 0.1)	0.10
Peanut
Overall	11.2 (9.5 – 13.1)	10.5 (8.4 – 12.7)	0.62
Moderate-level	3.7 (2.7 – 4.6)	4.5 (3.3 – 5.7)	0.26
High-level	0.7 (0.4 – 1.2)	0.9 (0.4 – 1.4)	0.39
Shrimp
Overall	11.2 (10.0 – 12.5)	6.1 (4.5 – 7.7)	<0.001
Moderate-level	4.1 (3.3 – 4.9)	1.7 (1.2 – 2.2)	<0.001
High-level	2.2 (1.6 – 2.9)	0.6 (0.4 – 0.9)	<0.001
Milk, Egg, or Peanut
Overall	18.2 (15.7 – 20.6)	18.2 (15.4 – 20.9)	>0.99
Moderate-level	4.0 (2.9 – 5.1)	4.9 (3.7 – 6.1)	0.23
High-level	0.6 (0.3 – 1.1)	0.9 (0.5 – 1.4)	0.35
All Foods
Overall	24.3 (22.1 – 26.5)	21.6 (19.5 – 23.7)	0.07
Moderate-level	7.2 (6.0 – 8.5)	6.2 (4.8 – 7.5)	0.23
High-level	2.8 (2.0 – 3.6)	1.5 (1.0 – 2.1)	0.01

Values are reported as percentages (95% CIs)

^†P value for the risk difference estimate

^*Overall sensitization is defined as IgE ≥ 0.35 kU/L; moderate sensitization is defined as IgE ≥ 2 kU/L; high sensitization is defined as ≥15 kU/L for milk, ≥7 kU/L for egg, ≥14 kU/L for peanut, and ≥5 kU/L for shrimp.

^**n=4991 for milk, 4994 for shrimp, and 4995 for egg and peanut.