Table 1.
Summary of EAACI epidemiological studies [14]
| Parameter | Food allergy in the patient’s own opinion | Allergy to a minimum of one food allergen (point prevalence) | Clinical manifestations + allergy to a minimum of one food allergen (point prevalence) | Convincing history or positive challenge (point prevalence)@ | Positive open food challenge or DBPCFC (point prevalence)@ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifetime prevalence | Point prevalence | Positive specific IgE | Positive skin prick test | Clinical manifestations + positive specific IgE | Clinical manifestations + positive skin prick test | |||
| Total | 17.3 (17.0–17.6) | 5.9 (5.7–6.1) | 10.7 (9.4–10.8) | 3.0 (2.7–3.3) | 2.7 (1.7–3.7) | 1.5 (1.3–1.7) | 2.6 (2.1–3.1) | 0.9 (0.8–1.1) |
| Age: | ||||||||
| Children (0–17 years old) | 17.4 (16.9–18.0) | 6.9 (6.6–7.2) | 12.2 (11.4–13.1) | 3.0 (2.7–3.3) | 3.6 (2.8–4.4) | 1.5 (1.3–1.7) | 2.6 (2.1–3.1) | 1.0 (0.8–1.2) |
| Adults (> 18 years old) | 17.2 (16.0–17.6) | 5.1 (4.8–5.3) | 4.1 (3.2–5.1) | –* | 2.2 (0.8–3.7) | –* | –* | 0.9 (0.8–1.0) |
| Regions§: | ||||||||
| Western Europe | 23.8 (22.9–24.7) | 3.3 (3.1–3.5) | 11.7 (9.8–13.6) | 1.8 (1.5–2.1) | 2.6 (1.3–3.8) | 1.4 (1.1–1.7) | –* | 3.1 (2.6–3.7) |
| Eastern Europe | 41.6 (39.5–43.7) | 3.3 (1.2–5.4) | –* | –* | –* | –* | –* | –* |
| Southern Europe# | 8.6 (8.2–9.0) | 3.5 (2.5–4.5) | –* | 4.2 (2.2–6.3) | –* | 1.8 (1.3–2.3) | –* | 0.2 (0.1–0.3) |
| Northern Europe | 30.3 (28.7–31.9) | 14.5 (13.9–15.2) | 9.8 (9.0–10.5) | 5.4 (4.6–6.1) | 3.0 (2.1–3.9) | 1.6 (0.9–2.3) | 2.6 (2.1–3.1) | 1.1 (0.9–1.3) |
| Europe** | 19.2 (18.6–19.8) | 5.0 (4.6–5.5) | –* | –* | –* | –* | –* | –* |
Point prevalence is the proportion of a population that has the condition at a specific point in time.
No studies for this group of the primary endpoint.
For studies which included several European countries and reported estimated data for all the countries and in which it is not possible to calculate the prevalence for each country investigated.
Regions of Europe as classified by the United Nations (UN).
Studies from Turkey added.
If both open food challenge and DBPCFC were carried out in a study, the DBPCFC was always taken into account. If no DBPCFC was carried out, then open food challenge was taken into account. The data in the table is given as percentages (95% CI). DBPCFC – double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge.