Journal
CLINICAL REVIEWS IN ALLERGY & IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 46, Issue 3, Pages 198-210Publisher
HUMANA PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1007/s12016-012-8337-8
Keywords
Food allergy; Skin prick testing; Epicutaneous testing; Specific IgE antibody testing; Double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Global and regional studies on the prevalence of food allergies are plagued by inconsistent methodologies, variations in interpretation of results, and non-standardized study design. Hence, it becomes difficult to compare the prevalence of food allergies in different communities. This information would be useful in providing critical data that will enhance research to elucidate the nature of food allergies, and the role of gene-environment interactions in the sensitization of children and adults to foods. Testing methodologies range from questionnaires to objective in vitro and in vivo testing, to the gold standard, double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC). Although considered the most accurate and reliable method in detecting the prevalence of food allergy, DBPCFC is not always practical in epidemiological studies of food allergy. On the other hand, multiple logistic regression studies have been done to determine predictability of the outcome of food challenges, and it appears that skin prick testing and in vitro-specific serum IgE are the best predictors. Future studies directed towards confirming the validity of these methods as well as developing algorithms to predict the food challenge outcomes are required, as they may someday become accessory tools to complement DBPCFC.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available