Food Allergy

Introduction: Any adverse effect on health resulting from repeated exposure to a substance against which the individual has been sensitized against is allergy. Food allergens are one of the many common causes of allergies. The aim of this study is to find out the common food allergens and also specify the type of food suspicious for allergy among the patients with allergic reactions. A total of 178 patients with allergic reactions were included. The test was carried out using kit with an enzyme-labelled antihuman IgE catalysing a colour reaction. The kit contains test stripes coated with 21 different common antigens. Concentration of antibody specific to certain allergen is calculated and graded into different classes. Among the patients sensitized to allergic food, mean age was 34.36 years with female to male ratio of 2.9:1. Ninty two patients (51.7%) patients were sensitized to 1 to 3 allergens, whereas, 3.9% w ere sensitized to more than 10 food allergens. Thirty three (27.9%) patients had definite antibody detection, 11(9.3%) patients had strong antibody titre and 4 (3.3%) patients had very high antibody titre. Most common food allergen was crab (20.1%) followed by potato (25.8%). Cross reactivity was seen in various food allergens. Cereals and rice showed significant reactivity (P <0.001). Other food like soybean with mustard, peanut with coconut and apple with grape also showed significant correlation (P<0.001). The most common food allergens were crab, potato, spinach, peanut, coconut, soybean, mustard, wheat, rice, shrimp/prawn, cucumber and onion. While determining the specific allergen, we should be aware of potential cross-reactivity against one or more food allergens.