At least 1 in 10 children have a food allergy

DENVER—Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine found that at least one in 10 children from four large cities in the United States has a food allergy. However, the true number may be even higher because the study used highly stringent criteria and counted only the three most common food allergies, investigators explained.

Food allergies among children have been on a steady rise over the last 20 years, and experts have long suspected that children in urban areas are no exception. The new study largely affirms that trend but also points to a subgroup of children who may have higher-than-average allergy risk.

"Our findings are a wake-up call, signaling an urgent need to unravel the causes, contributors and mechanisms that drive the high prevalence of food allergies among an already vulnerable group known for its high risk of asthma and environmental allergies," said senior investigator Robert Wood, director of pediatric allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins.

According to the latest estimates from the National Institutes of Health, nearly 3 percent of adults and 6 percent of young children in the United States have one or more food allergies.