Children with Private Insurance More Likely to Outgrow Food Allergies
Research By: Amal Assa’ad, MD
Post Date: November 9, 2023 | Publish Date:
It is not uncommon for a child to outgrow a food allergy, but not much is known about why or how. A new study being presented at this year’s American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. shows that children with private insurance are more likely to outgrow food allergies than children who use public insurance.
“Milk and egg allergy were the most frequently outgrown allergies,” said allergist Arabelle Abellard, MD, ACAAI member and lead author on the study. “And children with public insurance (12%) compared to children with private insurance (29%) were significantly less likely to report outgrowing food allergy.”
The study group included 188 children consisting of 62% male, 51% Black, 32% White and 16% Latinx participants. Of those, 21% of the children outgrew at least one food allergy, with a total of 72 food allergies outgrown. The mean age at which food was outgrown was five years. The foods that were most frequently outgrown were milk followed by egg, then tree nuts, soy, and peanut.
“This study provides additional information to our growing body of research on how and why children outgrow food allergies, specifically studying, for the first time, children from various racial groups,” says Cincinnati Children’s allergist Amal Assa’ad, MD, who is a co-author of the study and associate director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology. “As food allergies cause social, emotional and physical burdens on children and their families, food allergy researchers seek data to assist in our search for cures.”
Read the ACAAI media release
Research By
My research focuses on food allergies and eczema. I’m also trying to address racial disparities in the management of food allergies and eczema. My intent is to ensure all patients receive the same quality care and advances in knowledge.
