Tree Nut Allergy, Egg Allergy, and Asthma in Children

Abstract

Background. Children with food allergies often have concurrent asthma. Objective. The authors aimed to determine the prevalence of asthma in children with food allergies and the association of specific food allergies with asthma. Methods. Parental questionnaire data regarding food allergy, corroborated by allergic sensitization were completed for a cohort of 799 children with food allergies. Multivariate regression analysis tested the association between food allergy and reported asthma. Results. In this cohort, the prevalence of asthma was 45.6%. After adjusting for each food allergy, environmental allergies, and family history of asthma, children with egg allergy (odds ratio [OR] = 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3-3.2; P < .01) or tree nut allergy (OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.1-3.6; P = .02) had significantly greater odds of report of asthma. Conclusion. There is a high prevalence of asthma in the food-allergic pediatric population. Egg and tree nut allergy are significantly associated with asthma, independent of other risk factors.