Food allergy is associated with recurrent respiratory tract infections during childhood.
BACKGROUND
To find out whether children with food allergy have an increased risk of recurrent upper and lower respiratory tract infections and of asthma.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the clinical profile of children diagnosed with food allergy referred to the Allergy Clinic.


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective study to assess the patients' demographic, anthropometric and clinical data. The analysis included data of all children by the age of 10 years (registered with the Allergy Clinic between 2012 and 2013) in whom IgE mediated food allergy had been diagnosed during 18 months of observation.


RESULTS
We included 280 children into the analysis. Recurrent respiratory tract infections (rRTI), asthma and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms were observed in 153 (54.6%), 96 (34.3%), 39 (13.9%), respectively, with a significant increasing trend across age-subgroups. In children from 1 to 2 years old, sensitization to β-lactoglobulin increased the risk of rRTI (OR = 3.91; 95% CI: 1.03-14.87). In older children sensitization to allergens other than milk or egg decreases the risk of rRTI (OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.10-0.62); sensitization to egg decreased the risk of asthma diagnosis (OR = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.01-0.75). We did not identify food allergens which change the risk of GI symptoms in children. This finding was consistent throughout all age-subgroups.


CONCLUSIONS
Sensitization to β-lactoglobulin increased the risk of rRTI in children under 2 years of age nearly four times. The presence of sensitization to food allergens above 3 years of age did not increase the risk of developing clinical presentation of food allergy other than atopic dermatitis.
Department of Pediatrics and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Katarzyna
K
Woicka-Kolejwa
Department of Pediatrics and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Magdalena
M
Zaczeniuk
Department of Pediatrics and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Paweł
P
Majak
Department of Pediatrics and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Kamila
K
Pawłowska-Iwanicka
Department of Pediatrics and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Monika
M
Kopka
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Wlodzimierz
W
Stelmach
Department of Pediatrics and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Joanna
J
Jerzyńska
Department of Pediatrics and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Iwona
I
Stelmach
children; food allergy; recurrent respiratory infections