PRS19 Trends in Diagnostic Prevalence, Treatment Patterns, and Healthcare Resource Utilization of Adult Patients with Food Allergies in the United States, 2008-2018

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the annual diagnostic prevalence rates, treatment patterns, and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) of adult patients with food allergies in the United States from 2008-2018. Trends in food allergy prevalence were calculated for the 11-year period covering 01/01/2008-12/31/2018. Adults (18+ years) with food allergies (peanut, milk, egg, seafood, and other food allergy) were included in this retrospective analysis of medical and pharmacy claims data from the IBM Marketscan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental Claims database. Overall annual prevalence was determined as having ≥1 diagnostic code for any food allergy (ICD-9: V15.xx; ICD-10:Z91.xxx). Prevalence rates were also calculated for peanut, milk, egg, seafood, and other food allergy individually. Age-adjusted prevalence rates were projected to the US population in 2018. Trends in treatment patterns and HCRU were also analyzed. The prevalence of any food allergy increased from 0.27% in 2008 to 0.62% in 2018. The prevalence rates of peanut allergy (0.09% to 0.21%), milk allergy (0.04% to 0.08%), egg allergy (0.04% to 0.11%), seafood allergy (0.03% to 0.06%), and other food allergy (0.10% to 0.26%) increased during the study time period. Consistently throughout the years, approximately 68% of patients with a food allergy were female. From 2008 to 2018, the rates of allergy shots among patients with a food allergy increased from 3.75% to 4.79%, and epinephrine prescription rates increased from 0.46% to 1.01%. Rates of food allergy-related ER visits (2.84% to 12.39%), in-patient hospital stays (0.47% to 0.75%), outpatient visits (1.62% to 9.05%), and allergist visits (0.36% to 3.14%) increased from 2008 to 2018. The prevalence of food allergy increased between 2008 and 2018 and is projected to affect over 1.5 million US adults in 2018. HCRU, allergy shots, and epinephrine prescription rates among patients with food allergies have also increased over time.