Respiratory Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK.
Allergy. 2010 Sep;65(9):1182-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2010.02346.x. Epub 2010 Feb 22.
Reports of adverse reactions to foods are increasing, but there is limited information on the comparative prevalence of sensitization to food allergens using standardized methods.
Sera from the 'random sample' of young adults seen during the second phase of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey were analysed for IgE against 24 foods using ImmunoCAP. Sera were tested on five food mixes, and subsequently on individual foods in each positive mix.
Sera from 4522 individuals living in 13 countries were tested for at least one food allergen mix. Prevalence of sensitization to any of the 24 food allergens ranged from 24.6% in Portland (USA) to 7.7% in Reykjavik (Iceland). With few exceptions, the relative prevalence of sensitization to different foods was similar in all countries. Sensitization rates to egg, fish and milk were each less than 1%, and the most common sensitizations are not represented in current commercial mixes. The prevalence of sensitization to foods was not related to that of sensitization to aeroallergens but was related to the geometric mean total IgE for the country.
Sensitization to foods is common but highly variable. The relative prevalence of sensitization to different foods is more consistent than would be expected by chance, suggesting that quantity of consumption of specific foods does not determine prevalence. The aetiology of food sensitization is only partly similar to that for aeroallergens but is related to local levels of total IgE. This may provide an important clue to the origins of food sensitization.
食物不良反应报告日益增多，但使用标准化方法报告食物过敏原致敏情况的相关信息有限。
采用 ImmunoCAP 法对参加欧洲社区呼吸健康调查第二期研究的随机抽样青年人群的血清进行 24 种食物 IgE 检测。血清先与 5 种食物混合物进行检测，然后对每种阳性混合物中的单一食物进行检测。
对来自 13 个国家的 4522 名个体的血清进行了至少一种食物过敏原混合物的检测。对 24 种食物过敏原中任何一种过敏的发生率范围为美国波特兰 24.6%至冰岛雷克雅未克 7.7%。除了少数例外，各国之间对不同食物的致敏相对发生率相似。对鸡蛋、鱼和牛奶的致敏率均低于 1%，而最常见的致敏原并未包含在当前的商业混合物中。对食物的致敏率与对气传过敏原的致敏率无关，而是与各国总 IgE 的几何均数相关。
食物致敏很常见，但高度可变。对不同食物的致敏相对发生率比预期的更一致，这表明特定食物的摄入量并不能决定其致敏率。食物致敏的病因与气传过敏原的病因只有部分相似，但与总 IgE 的局部水平有关。这可能为食物致敏的起源提供了一个重要线索。
