Contribution to the estimation of the prevalence of food allergy in schoolchildren in the city of Guelma (Algeria)

Abstract

GoalThe prevalence of food allergy has never been estimated in the city of Guelma (east Algeria). The goal in this work was to determine parent-reported prevalence of food allergy in a population of schoolchildren (5 to 13 years old). MethodsCross-sectional, random, questionnaire based survey was performed from 15th to 29th April 2018 among primary schools of Guelma. Six hundreds questionnaires were distributed in 8 schools of the city. ResultsThe return rate was 88% (528). Forty-five subjects were retained as having probable food allergy at a prevalence of 8.5% (95% CI 6.1–10.8). In total, 49% were boys and 51% girls with no significant difference (P=0.429). The average age of appearance of the potential allergy was 4.41±2.51 years. Among allergic children, 26.7% were aged from 5–7 years old, 64.4% had 8–10 years old and 8.9% had 11–13 years old. The main foods reported by the parents were: chocolate (1.7%), wheat (1.3%), milk (1.1%), eggs (1.1%), strawberry (1.1%), fish and beans (0.9%). The prevalence of the three symptoms according to the observations of the parents were cutaneous (68.6%), digestive (19.6%) and respiratory (11.8%). Among the allergic subjects, 66.6% had at least one of their parents atopic (P=0.0001). ConclusionThe prevalence of parent-reported food allergy in schoolchildren was assessed for the first time in the city of Guelma. It showed a prevalence of 8.5% with no significant difference between the boys and the girls. The main risk factor in the appearance of food allergy was the presence of family history with this pathology.