Food allergies in Sarajevo Canton

Abstract

Introduction: Food allergies have been recognized as significant health issue in last two decades. Prevalence is from 3-38 % of self-reported cases, i.e. 1-7% of those that have been diagnosed as allergies. Numerous projects have been undertaken during last years in order to determine prevalence of food allergies, most frequent allergen types, cause of allergies, link with other health problems, methods of diagnosing, risk control management in food industry, adjustment of legislation in accordance to the needs of allergic persons etc. While some countries have done a lot when it comes to this issue, others even do not have yet data on food allergies in their area, and this is the situation in BiH too. RESEARCH GOALS: Establish food allergy prevalence from survey in Sarajevo Canton. Establish frequency of some other allergies in subjects. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional study on allergies and it was conducted during March and April, 2017 amongst Sarajevo Canton population of both genders and all age groups by random sampling method. Specifically designed survey questionnaire consisting of 16 questions was filled in by 480 subjects. The research was conducted retrospectively. Results: Results of the survey conducted in Sarajevo Canton are: 51% of persons reporting to have some type of allergy, while 20% of that is reported food allergy cases, i.e. 11.67% of diagnosed food allergy cases, in relation to the total number of 480 subjects (100%) who participated in the survey. The most frequently reported allergens are: milk and dairy products, cereals, eggs, peanut, nuts, fish (including mollusks and crustaceans) and eggs. Conclusion: As per obtained results of food allergy prevalence in our research in total surveyed sample of 480 subjects, there are 96 (20%) of subjects, which indicates that the problem of allergies in Sarajevo Canton is significant, with frequency in values characteristic for other regions of Europe and the world. Legislation is harmonized at a regular basis with the EU Acquis communautaire, but there is lack of easily accessible information, that people with allergies could use to facilitate the process of diagnosing, preventing contact with allergens and coping with them in everyday life.