Food allergy in under 19s: assessment and diagnosis

Recommendation ID: CG116/1
Question: Prevalence and natural history of non-IgE-mediated food allergy:- How common are non-IgE-mediated food allergies in children and young people in primary care and community settings and when food allergies may be outgrown?
Any explanatory notes (if applicable): Why this is important:- Food allergy has many presentations. IgE-mediated food allergy manifests
itself with a relatively homogenous group of presentations. Along with objective tests, measures of prevalence in the relevant settings and later development of tolerance have yielded useful information on the burden of IgE-mediated food allergy. However, non-IgE-mediated food allergy has a more heterogeneous group of presentations and the lack of validated diagnostic tests make it very difficult to assess prevalence without using formal diagnostic food challenges. Until high-quality prevalence studies in primary care and community settings are carried out, the burden of this food allergy will remain unknown. Studies should also evaluate prevalence rates and the resolution of allergies in subgroups, such as by allergies to particular food groups, or by method of infant feeding (exclusive formula, exclusive breastfeeding or mixed).

Source guidance details

Is this a recommendation for the use of a technology only in the context of research?	No
Is it a recommendation that suggests collection of data or the establishment of a register?	No