title: Parent-reported prevalence of food allergy in Mexican schoolchildren: A population-based study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Food allergy (FA) prevalence is well documented in developed countries and appears to be increasing, but remains unknown in most Latin American countries. We aimed to evaluate on a population basis the parent-reported prevalence of FA and its clinical characteristics in Mexican schoolchildren.
  
  
  METHODS
  A validated Spanish version of a structured written questionnaire was administered to parents of schoolchildren aged 5-13 years old from Culiacan, Mexico.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1049 parents responded to the survey (response rate, 84%). The estimated prevalence rates (95% CI) were: adverse food reactions 10.0% (8.3-11.9), "perceived FA, ever" 5.5% (4.3-7.0), "physician-diagnosed FA, ever" 4.9% (3.7-6.3), "immediate-type FA, ever" 4.4% (3.3-5.8), "immediate-type FA, current" 3.5% (2.6-4.8), and anaphylaxis 1.2% (0.72-2.1). Immediate hypersensitivity reactions were mainly triggered by the consumption of shrimp (1.3%), other shellfish (0.7%), strawberry (0.6%), chocolate (0.5%), and egg (0.4%). Schoolchildren with "immediate-type FA, current" had more atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis (p<0.05), but not asthma or drug allergy (p>0.05) than children without FA. All cases of anaphylaxis sought medical attention, but only one child had physician-diagnosed anaphylaxis and was advised to acquire an epinephrine autoinjector.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of "immediate-type FA, current" to any food is 3.5% in Mexican schoolchildren. The poor recognition of anaphylaxis and the low frequency of prescription of epinephrine autoinjectors suggest that acute food-induced allergic reactions are not optimally managed in Mexico.
authors.affiliation: Regional Program for PhD in Biotechnology, FCQB, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Culiacán, Sinaloa 80019, Mexico.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ontiveros
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Sciences Academic Unit, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Culiacán, Sinaloa 80019, Mexico.
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Valdez-Meza
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Sciences Academic Unit, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Culiacán, Sinaloa 80019, Mexico.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vergara-Jiménez
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Culiacán, Sinaloa 80019, Mexico.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Canizalez-Román
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borzutzky
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Sciences Academic Unit, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Culiacán, Sinaloa 80019, Mexico. Electronic address: fcabrera@uas.edu.mx.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cabrera-Chávez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D010290:Parents; D011153:Population; D015995:Prevalence; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: Anaphylaxis; Children; Food allergy; Immediate hypersensitivity; Mexico; Parent-reported; Prevalence