"An estimated one out of every 10 people in the U.S. has some kind of food allergy, which adds up to more than 33 million Americans. Peanut allergies are among the most common and certainly take the lead as the most visible. But peanut allergies weren't always so prevalent. In the late 1990s a nationwide survey found that peanut allergies were reported in 0.4 percent of American children. Just over a decade later that number had more than tripled."
"Scientists still aren't completely sure what led to this big uptick, but it could stem in part from parental anxiety over peanut allergiesand misguided advice about how to keep kids safe. Here to tell us more about the latest research on peanut allergies, including new avenues for treatment and prevention, is Maryn McKenna, the author of a recent article on the subject for Scientific American. Maryn is a journalist who covers food policy and public health."
"This is a really interesting mystery still. No matter how much study and how much research funding has gone into the problem of peanut allergyand food allergies more broadlya lot of it still remains kind of opaque. We know the biological mechanisms of what makes an allergy happen, but why peanut allergy in particular came on the scene 20, 30 years ago or so and why it blew up to such a major public health problempeople are still working that out."
Food allergies affect about one in ten people in the U.S., totaling over 33 million individuals. Peanut allergy prevalence rose markedly in recent decades, from roughly 0.4 percent of children in the late 1990s to more than triple that rate a little over a decade later. Biological mechanisms of allergic reactions are understood, but the reasons peanut allergy emerged and expanded rapidly remain unclear. Potential contributors include parental anxiety and misguided advice about avoiding peanuts, which may have delayed early exposure. Ongoing research focuses on understanding causes and developing new approaches to treatment and prevention.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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