Table 1. Clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients according to the age groups.
| Variables | All patient (n=157) | Age groups (yr) | P value* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <4 (n=97) | 4–6 (n=35) | 7–12 (n=25) | |||
| Female sex | 45 (28.7) | 27 (27.8) | 12 (34.3) | 6 (24) | |
| Age (yr) | 2.4 (1.2–5.2) | 1.4 (0.9–2.1) | 5.1 (4.5–6.1) | 9.3 (7.8–11.4) | <0.001 |
| The age of FA symptoms onset (yr) | 0.4 (0.2–0.5) | 0.3 (0.2–0.5) | 0.4 (0.2–0.5) | 0.5 (0.3–0.6) | 0.032 |
| Duration of FA (yr) | 2 (0.8–5.1) | 1.1 (0.6–1.8) | 4.6 (4.2–5.4) | 8.4 (7–10.5) | <0.001 |
| Duration of follow-up (yr) | 0.6 (0.2–1.5) | 0.6 (0.1–1.3) | 3.2 (0.1–4.3) | 5.9 (2.1–7) | <0.001 |
| Single vs multiple FA | 80 (51), 77 (49) | 48 (49.5), 49 (50.5) | 17 (49), 18 (51) | 15 (60), 10 (40) | 0.612 |
| Ongoing food allergies at the time of the first questionnaire | |||||
| Cow's milk | 93 (59.2) | 63 (64.9) | 22 (62.9) | 8 (32) | 0.010 |
| Egg | 86 (54.8) | 62 (63.9) | 14 (40) | 10 (40) | 0.014 |
| Hazelnut | 36 (22.9) | 15 (15.5) | 14 (40) | 7 (28) | 0.010 |
| Walnut | 21 (13.4) | 9 (9.3) | 6 (17.1) | 6 (24) | 0.118 |
| Peanut | 17 (10.8) | 8 (8.2) | 5 (14.3) | 4 (16) | 0.408 |
| Legume | 13 (5.7) | 5 (5.2) | 2 (5.7) | 2 (8) | 0.862 |
| Pistachio | 10 (6.4) | 5 (5.2) | 3 (8.6) | 2 (8) | 0.728 |
| Wheat | 8 (5.1) | 4 (4.1) | 4 (11.4) | 0 (0) | 0.082‡ |
| Sesame | 9 (5.7) | 4 (4.1) | 3 (8.6) | 2 (8) | 0.542 |
| Meat | 3 (1.9) | 0 (0) | 2 (5.7) | 1 (4) | 0.051‡ |
| Fish | 2 (1.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (8) | 0.024‡ |
| Cashew | 2 (1.3) | 2 (2.1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.534‡ |
| Pumpkin seeds | 2 (1.3) | 0 (0) | 2 (5.7) | 0 (0) | 0.220‡ |
| Banana | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | 0.157‡ |
| Anaphylaxis† | 96 (61.1) | 52 (53.6) | 24 (68.6) | 20 (80) | 0.040 |
| Mild | 36 (37.5) | 21 (40.4) | 8 (33.3) | 7 (35) | 0.693 |
| Moderate-severe | 60 (62.5) | 31 (59.6) | 16 (66.7) | 13 (65) | |
| The time of anaphylaxis | |||||
| < 1 year ago | 51 (32.4) | 37 (71.2) | 12 (50) | 11 (55) | 0.002 |
| ≥ 1 year ago | 45 (28.7) | 15 (28.8) | 12 (50) | 9 (45) | |
| Concomitant allergic disease | |||||
| Asthma | 49 (31.2) | 14 (14.4) | 20 (57.1) | 15 (60) | < 0.001 |
| Allergic rhinitis | 18 (11.5) | 1 (1) | 6 (17.1) | 11 (44) | < 0.001 |
| Atopic dermatitis | 87 (55.4) | 51 (52.6) | 20 (57.1) | 16 (64) | 0.789 |
| Family history of allergic disease | 51 (32.5) | 29 (29.9) | 10 (28.6) | 12 (48) | |
| Eosinophil count (mm3) | 440 (200–829) | 500 (200–900) | 400 (157–825) | 400 (208–600) | 0.472 |
| Total immunoglobulin E (U/L) | 103 (42.1–265) | 64.1 (32.8–133.8) | 265 (99.3–587.5) | 147 (73.3–596) | 0.001 |
Values are presented as number (%) or median (interquartile range). Bold P values are significant at P<0.05.
FA, food allergy.
*Comparing the 3 age groups; †Reported by parents and/or observed during challenge tests; ‡Likelihood ratio.