Food allergies in the family Slightly increased risk for siblings

If a child in the family has a food allergy, the risk to siblings is only marginally higher than that of the general population. This is the surprising result of a US study in which a total of 1,120 children aged 0 to 21 were involved.

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There were 478 children with a food allergy and their 642 siblings. Common allergies, for example to peanuts, egg whites, cow's milk, soy, crustaceans and walnuts, have been studied through interviews with parents and special investigations. This included the determination of the specific antibodies (IgE) in the blood and the so-called prick test, in which allergen extracts were dripped onto the skin and the site was then slightly pricked.

Every second sibling had antibodies in the blood or a positive prick test, but did not show allergy symptoms. One third of the young volunteers were not sensitized and showed no incompatibilities. Only just under 14 percent of children currently respond to the same food as their brother or sister.

Food allergies are increasing and affect young people in particular. If a child is already affected, many parents are worried. An allergy test without the appropriate symptoms but is not justified and can lead to misdiagnosis, the scientists write in the journal "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice". If certain foods are unnecessarily avoided, this behavior may even increase the risk of developing allergy later in life. Source: The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 956-962, 2016 Heike Kreutz, aid