Prevalence of self-reported food allergy among adults in Jiangxi, China

Hua Feng; Jiangdong Zhou; Yuanan Lu; Qian Zhao; Zifei Yang; Xiujuan Xiong; Nan Luo; Yan Chen; Lianglu Wang; Yongning Wu

doi:10.1016/j.waojou.2023.100773

Prevalence of self-reported food allergy among adults in Jiangxi, China

World Allergy Organ J. 2023 May 13;16(5):100773. doi: 10.1016/j.waojou.2023.100773. eCollection 2023 May.

Authors

Hua Feng^{1

2}, Jiangdong Zhou³, Yuanan Lu⁴, Qian Zhao², Zifei Yang², Xiujuan Xiong⁵, Nan Luo², Yan Chen^{6

7}, Lianglu Wang⁸, Yongning Wu^{1

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330047, China.
² School of Public Health, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China.
³ Fengxin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province, 330700, China.
⁴ Environmental Health Laboratory, Dept. Public Health Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
⁵ Department of Pathology, Basic Medical College of Nanchang University, 461 Bayi Road, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China.
⁶ Research Unit of Food Safety, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (No. 2019RU014), China.
⁷ NHC Key Lab of Food Safety Risk Assessment, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA), Beijing 100022, China.
⁸ Department of Allergy, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100730, China.

Abstract

Background: Food allergy has become an increasingly important public health problem. However, information regarding epidemiological studies of food allergy among Chinese adults is very limited. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of self-reported food allergy among adults in China.

Method: A population-based cross-sectional study was administered to estimate the prevalence of self-reported food allergy on the basis of a face-to-face questionnaire survey. The participants were recruited by cluster random sampling from three prefectures in Jiangxi Province, China.

Results: A total of 12 082 questionnaires were distributed, and 11 935 (98.8%) of completed ones were collected. The prevalence of self-reported food allergy was 4.0% (3.1% in men and 4.8% in women), self-reported doctor-diagnosed food allergy accounted for 1.4%. The most common allergic symptom was skin reaction showing in 63.9% of the participants with self-reported food allergy. The main allergic foods were shrimp, mollusks, and mango, accounting for the prevalence of 39.8%, 20.8%, and 18.7%, respectively. The self-reported food allergy was significantly linked with gender, age group, body height and other allergic conditions.

Conclusions: The prevalence of self-reported food allergy is about 4.0% among adults in China. The three most common allergenic foods were shrimp, mollusks and mango. Gender, age, and other allergic diseases could be contributing factors associated with food allergy in adults. These findings will provide scientific basis for the further research and prevention of food allergy in adults.

Keywords: Adult; China; Food allergy; Prevalence.