Epidemiology of anaphylaxis.

Anaphylaxis is the most severe manifestation of a mast cell-dependent reaction. It is a rare disease and most recent data indicates a continuous increase of affected individuals. Limitations regarding the incidence of anaphylaxis are the lack of a unique definition and the fact that patients are often seen by different medical specialties (e.g. emergency doctors, allergists or other clinicians). However, based on the published data it can be summarized that the most frequent causes of anaphylaxis are food, venom and drugs, and their frequency as an elicitator depend on age. Risk factors for anaphylaxis include age, the presence of other allergic or cardiovascular comorbidities - and gender. More data throughout different countries are needed to monitor the elicitating factors and identify patients at risk.