title: Race, ancestry, and development of food-allergen sensitization in early childhood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined whether the risk of food-allergen sensitization varied according to self-identified race or genetic ancestry.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 1104 children (mean age: 2.7 years) from an urban multiethnic birth cohort. Food sensitization was defined as specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels of ≥ 0.35 kilo-units of allergen (kUA)/L for any of 8 common food allergens. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations of self-identified race and genetic ancestry with food sensitization. Analyses also examined associations with numbers of food sensitizations (0, 1 or 2, and ≥ 3 foods) and with logarithmically transformed allergen sIgE levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this predominantly minority cohort (60.9% black and 22.5% Hispanic), 35.5% of subjects exhibited food sensitizations. In multivariate models, both self-reported black race (odds ratio [OR]: 2.34 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24-4.44]) and African ancestry (in 10% increments; OR: 1.07 [95% CI: 1.02-1.14]) were associated with food sensitization. Self-reported black race (OR: 3.76 [95% CI: 1.09-12.97]) and African ancestry (OR: 1.19 [95% CI: 1.07-1.32]) were associated with a high number (≥ 3) of food sensitizations. African ancestry was associated with increased odds of peanut sIgE levels of ≥ 5 kUA/L (OR: 1.25 [95% CI: 1.01-1.52]). Similar ancestry associations were seen for egg sIgE levels of ≥ 2 kUA/L (OR: 1.13 [95% CI: 1.01-1.27]) and milk sIgE levels of ≥ 5 kUA/L (OR: 1.24 [95% CI: 0.94-1.63]), although findings were not significant for milk.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Black children were more likely to be sensitized to food allergens and were sensitized to more foods. African ancestry was associated with peanut sensitization.
authors: aDivision of Allergy and Immunology, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois 60614, USA. rkumar@childrensmemorial.org
authors: Rajesh
authors: R
authors: Kumar
authors: Hui-Ju
authors: HJ
authors: Tsai
authors: Xiumei
authors: X
authors: Hong
authors: Xin
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Guoying
authors: G
authors: Wang
authors: Colleen
authors: C
authors: Pearson
authors: Katherin
authors: K
authors: Ortiz
authors: Melanie
authors: M
authors: Fu
authors: Jacqueline A
authors: JA
authors: Pongracic
authors: Howard
authors: H
authors: Bauchner
authors: Xiaobin
authors: X
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D005838:Genotype; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E