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For the Newly Diagnosed

Food Allergy Basics

  • More than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That’s one in 25, or 4 percent of the population.
  • The incidence is even higher in young children – one in 17 among those under age 3.
  • About 3.1 million children in the U.S. have food allergies.
  • In the U.S., food allergy is the leading cause of anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction) outside the hospital setting, resulting each year in more than 50,000 emergency room visits and 150 deaths, which sometimes occur within minutes.
  • Eight foods account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.
  • Teens and young adults with peanut or tree nut allergy and asthma appear to be at increased risk for severe or fatal allergic reactions.

 

 

 
 
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Date modified 8/11/2009
The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network
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