Food allergies have doubled in the past decade in the UK, but many still go untreated | Imperial News

The number of people with food allergies in the UK has more than doubled since 2008, with the biggest increase being among young children.

In a new analysis, researchers from Imperial College London estimate that the number of people with food allergies in England increased significantly between 2008 and 2018. The analysis found that up to 4% of preschool children suffer from food allergies, while the rate for adults is around 1%. These rates appear to be in line with UK-wide trends.

The analysis, published in the Lancet Public Health journal, also found that many people who had previously suffered a severe food allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) were not prescribed potentially life-saving adrenaline auto-injector “pens.”

The researchers note that newly diagnosed cases of food allergies may be leveling off in some age groups, but say it's unclear whether this is due to changes in feeding guidelines for infants.^[1]

However, most food allergy patients, including those with a history of anaphylaxis, were seen only in primary care settings, and only around 10% saw a hospital-based specialist at least once during the 10-year study period.

The authors say there is an urgent need to ensure that GPs and other primary care staff have the right training and support to care for people at risk of severe food allergies.

Dr. Paul TurnerProfessor of Pediatric Allergy National Heart and Lung Institute Researchers from Imperial College London led the study., “This new analysis paints a significant but complex picture of food allergies in the UK.”

“The good news is that although the prevalence of food allergies is increasing, the number of new cases each year appears to be leveling off. However, more than a third of patients at risk of having a severe reaction do not have a potentially life-saving emergency epinephrine auto-injector like EpiPen.”

“We urgently need to address this issue and better support GPs and primary care staff who will see the majority of food allergy patients in the UK.”

Food allergies It occurs when the immune system overreacts to certain foods, such as milk, peanuts, eggs, and shellfish. In severe cases, AnaphylaxisIf not treated urgently, it can cause swelling of the airways, difficulty breathing, and cardiac arrest.

In the latest study, researchers estimated trends in the clinical incidence and prevalence of food allergies in the UK population. Anonymized data From a general practitioner^[2] The researchers searched for food allergy cases between 2008 and 2018 across 13 million patients and linked the data to relevant GP and hospital consultations in England.

The analysis found that the estimated total prevalence of food allergies in the UK increased from 0.4% to 1.1% between 2008 and 2018. In 2018, prevalence was highest in children under 5 years of age (4%), lower in school-aged children (2.4% in 5-9 year olds and 1.7% in 15-19 year olds) and lowest in adults (0.7%).

The estimated number of new suspected cases of food allergy in the UK doubled between 2008 and 2018, increasing from 76 cases per 100,000 people in 2008 to 160 cases per 100,000 people in 2018.

More than 97% of clinical consultations for food allergy took place in general practices rather than hospitals, and around 90% of patients had recorded primary care consultations only throughout the 10-year study period. Prescription of epinephrine autoinjectors for patients with a history of anaphylaxis was estimated at 64% in children and young people and only 55% in adults. Prescriptions were also less common for people living in more deprived areas of the country.

The researchers say their study is the first to use a large population-based health data set to describe how the food allergy landscape has changed in the U.K. They suggest that while more doctors may be diagnosing food allergies in the past decade, the incidence of new cases may have fallen due to changes in infant feeding guidelines that no longer recommend delaying the introduction of foods such as peanuts into babies' diets.^[1] For children at high risk for food allergies (e.g., infantile eczema), early introduction of eggs and peanuts is now standard recommendation.^[3]

Professor Adnan KustovichA researcher from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London said: “One worrying finding from our study is that patients in more deprived parts of the country are more likely to lack access to the emergency medicines they need and to visit hospital emergency departments. This urgently requires further investigation.”

Professor Jenny Quinto“Our study shows that by using large-scale health datasets it is possible to cut through the noise and understand changing trends in allergies in the UK, and ultimately know whether interventions are making an impact,” said researchers from the Imperial College London School of Public Health.

Earlier this year, Professor Turner and Professor Kastovich Frankland Kaye Center for Allergy and Disease Located at Imperial College London, the centre is dedicated to advancing allergy research and reducing the impact of allergies on people and their families.

Dr Turner added: “Food allergies can have a huge impact on people's lives and, in tragic cases, shorten their lives. By gaining a better understanding of the prevalence of food allergies in the UK and working with affected people, their families, scientists and clinicians, we are working together to reduce their impact.”

The research was funded by the UK Food Standards Agency and the UK Medical Research Council.

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“Temporal trends in the epidemiology of food allergy in England: an observational analysis of Clinical Practice Research Datalink data” by Paul J. Turner, Alessia Baseggio Conrado, Konstantinos Kallis et al. The Lancet Public Health.

[1] See NHS options https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/food-allergies-in-babies-and-young-children/

[2] The study used data from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-supported Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), which collects anonymised patient data from a network of GP practices across the UK. https://www.cprd.com/

[3] Read 'Preventing food allergies in babies' from the British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Available at: https://www.bsaci.org/professional-resources/resources/early-feeding-guidelines/

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