title: Growth comparison in children with and without food allergies in 2 different demographic populations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effects of food avoidance on the growth of children with food allergies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review was performed for children with and without food allergies followed at 2 New York City general pediatric practices. Charts were selected based on codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, for well child visit, food allergy, anaphylaxis, and/or epinephrine autoinjector prescriptions. Heights and weights were obtained to calculate body mass index, height, and weight z-scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 9938 children seen, 439 (4.4%) were avoiding one or more foods. Of those with commercial insurance, children with food allergies were significantly shorter (mean height z-score = 0.06; P = .01) and weighed less (mean weight z-score -0.1; P = .006) than children without food allergies (mean height z-score = 0.42; mean weight z-score = 0.07). In contrast, children with food allergies and state insurance were not smaller in height or weight compared with children without food allergies. Among white subjects, there was a significant effect of food allergies on height and weight (ANOVA for height P = .012, for weight P = .0036) that was not observed for Hispanic/Latino, black, or Asian subjects. Children with allergies to milk weighed significantly less than children without milk allergies (P = .0006).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children with food allergies and commercial insurance have significant impairment in growth compared with those without food allergies. Additionally, children avoiding all forms of milk are shorter and weigh less than matched counterparts. Therefore, height and weight measurements should be assessed routinely in children with food allergies because there is risk for growth impairment in this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Harshna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramesh
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Feuille
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Groetch
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Electronic address: Julie.wang@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001213:Asian; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D016269:Milk Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012923:Social Class; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult