title: Patterns of quantitative food-specific IgE-antibodies and reported food hypersensitivity in 4-year-old children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diagnosis of food hypersensitivity (FHS) is difficult and interpretation of food allergy tests is complicated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the probability of reported FHS in relation to levels of food-specific IgE-antibodies (AB) in a population-based setting of 4-year-old children (n = 2336).
  
  
  METHODS
  Information on FHS was obtained from a questionnaire and specific IgE-AB to milk, egg, fish, peanut, soy and wheat were analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-one per cent of the children with reported FHS (n = 284) were sensitized (> or =0.35 kU(A)/l) to at least one of the tested foods compared with 11% of children without FHS (n = 2052). Furthermore, the probability of reported symptoms to milk, egg and fish increased with increasing levels of food-specific IgE-AB to the same food allergens. A similar trend was seen for peanut and wheat, but not for soy. Increasing levels of specific IgE-AB to milk or egg were also associated with an increasing risk of reported symptoms caused by other foods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quantitative measurements of IgE-AB to milk, egg and fish are useful to evaluate IgE-associated FHS in preschool children also in a population based sample. Such measurements appear to be of limited value for soy bean and wheat, in particular as a screening method.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Sachs' Children's Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ostblom
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lilja
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahlstedt
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Hage
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wickman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D010367:Arachis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004531:Eggs / Q000009:adverse effects; D005399:Fishes / Q000276:immunology; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D008892:Milk / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E