FOOD allergies in children are on the rise, with hospitals seeing more of them having adverse reactions to food such as egg and peanut in recent years.
Doctors said this mirrors a rising incidence of children with food allergies worldwide, with the current estimated prevalence at about 5%.
The National University Hospital (NUH) said that the number of children it saw for food allergies grew from about 300 in 2014, to 10,000 in 2022.
In contrast, the number of food allergy visits for adults has remained stable during that same period, at between 3,000 and 4,000 yearly.
Dr Elizabeth Tham, head and consultant of the Division of Paediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at NUH’s Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children’s Medical Institute, said the number of day therapy sessions for food challenges conducted for paediatric patients also doubled in the past two years, from about 200 to 400 per year.
Dr Chong Kok Wee, head and senior consultant of Allergy Service in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s (KKH) Department of Paediatrics, said the number of children with positive skin prick tests to the top four food allergens – egg, cow’s milk, peanut and shellfish – tripled between 2012 and 2022. Such tests are used to identify allergens.
Egg is the top food allergen in children below two years of age, followed by milk and peanut, said Dr Tham. Shellfish is the most common food allergen in adolescents and adults. Other allergens include wheat, soya and fish.
Dr Chiang Wen Chin, paediatrician and allergist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, which has seen more patients with food allergies in the past five years, noted there has been a similar increase in other continents over the past two decades.
“It is postulated that a combination of urbanisation and migration may play a role in the rise of food allergies in different communities,” she said.
Dr Chong said higher awareness and accessibility of tests are likely to have contributed to the higher number of children with food allergies or sensitivities.
Globally, food-induced anaphylaxis – severe, potentially life-threatening, allergic reactions – is also going up.
KKH’s Children’s Emergency had a more than twofold increase in food-induced anaphylaxis between 2014 and 2020.
“Although fatal anaphylaxis reactions have not been reported among children in Singapore, near-fatal events from inadvertent food allergen exposures are increasingly being managed at KKH,” said Dr Chong. — The Straits Times/ANN
