title: Food Allergy Sensitization and Presentation in Siblings of Food Allergic Children.
abstract: Many parents of food allergic children have concerns about the development of food allergies in their other children.
  
  
  
  We sought to determine prevalence of food sensitization and clinical food allergy among siblings of food allergic children.
  
  
  
  Two thousand eight hundred and thirty-four children were enrolled in the Chicago Family Cohort Food Allergy study. One thousand one hundred and twenty children (ages 0-21 years) with a food allergy (defined by a reported reaction history and evidence of food-specific IgE or skin prick test) and at least 1 biological sibling were included in this study.
  
  
  
  Among siblings of children with food allergy, 33.4% had no sensitization and no clinical symptoms to food. Fifty-three percent had a positive food serum-specific IgE or skin prick test, but no reported symptoms of food allergy. Only 13.6% of siblings were both sensitized and clinically reactive to the same food. Milk allergy was the most common allergy among siblings (5.9%), followed by egg allergy (4.4%) and peanut allergy (3.7%).
  
  
  
  In a large cohort of food allergic families, only a small proportion of siblings were both sensitized and clinically reactive to a food. Sensitization without reactivity was common among siblings. Testing for food allergy in siblings without a history of clinical reactivity appears to be unjustified. Screening may lead to negative consequences related to potential misdiagnosis and unnecessary avoidance of a food. More data are needed to determine the absolute risk of food allergy development in siblings of food allergic children.
authors.affiliation: Smith Child Health Research Program, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Ill; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill. Electronic address: r-gupta@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Ruchi S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Smith Child Health Research Program, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
authors.forename: Madeline M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Walkner
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Allergy Section, Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Denver, Colo.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Greenhawt
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill.
authors.forename: Claudia H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
authors.forename: Deanna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.affiliation: Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill.
authors.forename: Jacqueline A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pongracic
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill; Edward J. Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Spinal Cord Injury QUERI, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Hines, Ill.
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000009:adverse effects; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D035781:Siblings; D012882:Skin Tests; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens
keywords: Childhood food allergy; ImmunoCAP; Milk allergy; Peanut allergy; Risk; Sensitization; Siblings; Skin testing