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About Food Allergy

“Food allergies occur when the body's immune system reacts to certain proteins in food. Food allergic reactions vary in severity from mild symptoms involving hives and lip swelling to severe, life-threatening symptoms, often called anaphylaxis, that may involve fatal respiratory problems and shock.” (FDA)

Prevalence

Worldwide:

220 million people suffer from a food allergy

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USA:

32 million Americans suffer from a food allergy

​

40%

Experienced Anaphylaxis

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That is

​

1 in 13

Children have food allergy[1]

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​

1 in 10

Adults have food allergy[2]

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That is

​

$4184

per year per child[3]

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ER visit every 3 minutes

Due to food-induced Anaphylaxis[5]

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Costs & Management

 

$24.8 Billion[3]

Annual food allergy cost in the US 

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​

9,500 children

received in-patient hospital care for food allergies each year[4]

Trends

Food allergy is on the rise.

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That is

 

 

X2​

Increase in the number of Americans with food allergy in each of the last decades[6]

 

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X3.5

Increase in anaphylaxis insurance claims 2007-2016[7]

 

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X2.5

Increase in rates of hospitalizations in 10 years period[8]

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Sources:

[1] - Gupta RS, Warren CM, Smith BM, Blumenstock JA, Jiang J, Davis MM, Nadeau KC. The Public Health Impact of Parent-Reported Childhood Food Allergies in the United States. Pediatrics. 2018 Dec;142(6):e20181235. doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-1235. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

[2] - Gupta RS, Warren CM, Smith BM, et al. Prevalence and Severity of Food Allergies Among US Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(1):e185630. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.5630

[3] - Gupta R, Holdford D, Bilaver L, Dyer A, Holl JL, Meltzer D. The Economic Impact of Childhood Food Allergy in the United States. JAMA Pediatr. 2013;167(11):1026–1031. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.2376

[4] - Branum A, Lukacs S. Food allergy among U.S. children: Trends in prevalence and hospitalizations. NCHS data brief, no 10. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2008. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db10.pdf on August 15, 2019

[5] - Clark, Sunday, Janice Espinola, Susan A. Rudders, Aleena Banerji, and Carlos A. Camargo. "Frequency of US emergency department visits for food-related acute allergic reactions." Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 127, no. 3 (2011): 682-683, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2010.10.040

[6] - https://www.foodallergyawareness.org/

[7] - https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/master/borndig/101751558/Food%20Allergy%20White%20Paper%20Final.compressed.pdf

[8] - CDC - https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db10.pdf

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