Statistics on food allergies
August 15, 2009
Statistics reveal that food allergies are on the rise in younger populations. Another alarming trend is the increase in anaphylaxis cases, the most dangerous allergic reaction, as more deaths have been recorded.
Back in the eighties, when I was in elementary school, I was always the only student in class suffering from anaphylactic reactions to peanuts and nuts. No security measures were implemented by my school. Though my teachers knew that I could not eat anything containing those allergens, they did not receive any training on how to inject adrenaline and, more importantly, were unaware of the seriousness of an anaphylaxis reaction.
Today, more children are being diagnosed with this aliment. Recent statistics reveal that the number of cases of food allergies is rising rapidly:
• worldwide, the data gathered by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Alliance Network (FAAN) show that the number of allergic individuals is increasing;
• Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have similar percentages: 1 to 6% of the population suffers from food allergies, mostly young children;
• in the United States, 4% of the population is affected;
• in Canada, only 1 to 2% of the population is touched;
• in North America, 6% of the population is concerned with food allergies and more deaths are being recorded.
These "low" percentages obscure the grave nature of this aliment as well as its consequences.
Allergens are found everywhere: on supermarket shelves, at restaurants, on airplanes, etc. and medical research has yet to discover a cure. For the time being, prevention is the only solution. Allergy sufferers must constantly be weary. Reading food labels, asking for details about the ingredients in a plate or avoiding any food which may possibly contain traces of allergens remain the only ways to prevent allergic reactions.
We can only hope that one day medicine will find a way to eliminate food allergies and thus reverse the current trend.
Source :
www.foodallergyalliance.org/foo.html
Mindie Ferkul NASK Volunteer/Member (Niagara Anaphylaxis Support and Knowledge) ' According to a recent Financial Post article, "Health Canada estimates that 3-4% of the adult population and 6% of children have severe food allergies, a number that has grown in the last few decades." There has been recent studies reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also corroborating higher statistics. Other stats: there are 1 million estimated - that's 3.5% of 32 million of the Canadian populace, per MacMaster's Doctor Denburg; almost 1 in 5 Canadians suffers from asthma and 1 in 3 have allergies.' · Growing in epidemic proportions-more than doubled in five years (1997 – 2002) |