Abstract
Food allergy is considered as the first step of the “allergic march”. It is frequently the first manifestation of allergies in children. It has been estimated that 1%–3% of the general population in the western world suffers from food allergies. The prevalence of food allergies has been reported to be more and more common in children and adults. As for other allergic disorders, food allergy is more common in urban and westernized countries. The manifestations can range from simple skin rash to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. The exact etiologies are largely unknown and the only preventive treatment is avoidance of causative food. However, accumulated evidence has revealed that food allergy is rather uncommon in the rural population. With the advance of molecular biology and understanding of the immunobiology of food allergies, improvement to standardized diagnostic methods can be made. When the genetic and environmental factors that lead to the development of food allergies are better understood, primary preventive strategies for this common condition can be developed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Downs S.H., Marks G.B., Mitakakis T.Z., et al. (2001). Having lived on a farm and protection against allergic diseases in Australia. Clin Exp Allergy, 31, 570–575.
Eggesbo, M. (2001). The prevalence of CMA/CMPI in young children. Allergy, 56, 393–402.
Elliott, A.M., Mpairwe, H., Quigley, M.A., et al. (2005). Helminth infection during pregnancy and development of infantile eczema. J Am Med Assoc, 294, 2032–2034.
Genuneit, J., Cantelmo, J.L., Weinmayr, G., et al. (2009). A multi-centre study of candidate genes for wheeze and allergy: The international study of asthma and allergies in childhood phase 2. Clin Exp Allergy, 39, 1875–1888.
Grundy, J., Matthews, S., Bateman, B., et al. (2002). Rising prevalence of allergy to peanut in children: data from 2 sequential cohorts. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 110, 784–789.
Leung, T.F., Yung, E., Wong, Y.S., et al. (2009). Parent-reported adverse food reactions in Hong Kong Chinese pre-schoolers: Epidemiology, clinical spectrum and risk factors. Pediatr Allergy Immunol, 20, 339–346.
Osterballe, M., Hansen, T.K., Mortz, C.G., et al. (2005). The prevalence of food hypersensitivity in an unselected population of children and adults. Pediatr Allergy Immunol, 16, 567–573.
Riedler, J., Eder, W., Oberfeld, G., Schreuer, M. (2000). Austrian children living on a farm have less hay fever asthma and allergic sensitization. Clin Exp Allergy, 30, 194–200.
Roehr, C.C., Edenharter, G., Reimann, S., et al. (2004). Food allergy and non-allergic food hypersensitivity in children and adolescents. Clin Exp Allergy, 34, 1534–1541.
Rona, R.J., Keil, T., Summers, C., et al. (2007). The prevalence of food allergy: A meta-analysis. J Allergy Clinical Immunol, 120, 638–646.
Sicherer, S.H., Sampson, H.A. (2007). Peanut allergy: emerging concepts and approaches for an apparent epidemic. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 120, 491–503.
von Ehrenstein, O.S., von Mutius, E., Illi, S., et al. (2000). Reduced risk of hay fever and asthma among children of farmers. Clin Exp Allergy, 30, 187–193.
Wang, H.Y., Wong, G.W., Chen, Y.Z., et al. (2008). Prevalence of asthma among Chinese adolescents living in Canada and in China. Canadian Med Assoc J, 18(179), 1133–1142.
Wong, G.W., Chow, C.M. (2008). Childhood asthma epidemiology: Insights from comparative studies of rural and urban populations. Pediatr Pulmonol, 43, 107–116.
Wong, G.W., Ko, F.W., Hui, D.S., et al. (2004). Factors associated with difference in prevalence of asthma in children from three cities in China: Multicentre epidemiological survey. Brit Med J, 329, 486–489.
Yu, M., Jing, Z., Han, Z.R., Chen, Y.Z., et al. (2009). Very low prevalence of asthma and allergies in schoolchildren from rural Beijing, China. Pediatr Pulmonol, 44, 793–799.
Zuberbier, T., Edenharter, G., Worm, M., et al. (2004). Prevalence of adverse reactions to food in Germany: A population study. Allergy, 59, 338–345.
Zuidmeer, L., Goldhahn, K., Rona, R.J., et al. (2008). The prevalence of plant food allergies: A systematic review. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 121, 1210–1218.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Zhejiang University Press, Hangzhou and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wong, G.W.K., Chen, YZ., Li, J., Zhong, NS. (2012). The Relationship of Food Allergies and Respiratory Allergies in Urban and Rural Chinese Children. In: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Allergies. Advanced Topics in Science and Technology in China. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31609-8_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31609-8_27
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-31608-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-31609-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)