title: Anaphylaxis to galacto-oligosaccharides--an evaluation in an atopic population in Singapore.
abstract: Anaphylaxis to galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), a prebiotic, has been described in atopic patients following its supplementation in commercial milk formula in South-East Asia. The epidemiology of this usual allergy to a carbohydrate is unknown. This study evaluated the prevalence of allergy to two formulations of commercial GOS, Vivinal™ GOS (vGOS) and Oligomate™ , in an atopic cohort. Atopic subjects (n = 487) from two specialist allergy clinics were surveyed via structured questionnaire and underwent skin prick tests to GOS. Subjects with positive skin prick tests to GOS (n = 30, 6.2%) underwent basophil activation tests, and a subset (n = 13) underwent oral challenge tests to both formulations of GOS. Six subjects had positive challenges to vGOS; and none to Oligomate. By extrapolating the BAT and oral challenge results, the prevalence of allergy to vGOS is estimated at up to 3.5% (95% CI 2.2-5.5%) of our atopic population. Our findings show that GOS allergy may be common amongst atopics in Singapore.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.|Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.|Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: C-H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: G V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Llanora
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.|Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Y L C
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: V Y J
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: FrieslandCampina, Amersfoort, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dianne
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.|Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D056692:Prebiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009844:Oligosaccharides; D056692:Prebiotics
keywords: anaphylaxis; galacto-oligosaccharide; prebiotic