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Hugh A> Sampson, MD; Rebecca Hatcher Buckley, MD, PhD; Dean D. Metcalfe, MD

JAMA. 1987;258(20):2886-2890.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

FOOD allergy is widely perceived by the public as a major health problem.¹ Although the true prevalence of food allergy is unknown, it is probably much less common than thought. Its prevalence among children has been variously estimated from 0.3% to 7.5%,² and it is believed that the incidence decreases with age. Acute allergic reactions to foods that are clearly IgE mediated can, however, develop in adults who previously tolerated foods with impunity.^3,4 Clinically, food-induced reactions of the immediate-hypersensitivity type are well documented and include urticaria, angioedema, and anaphylaxis. Reactions to foods mediated through antigen-antibody—complex and delayed-hypersensitivity mechanisms remain to be implicated, except in gluten-induced enteropathy and severe milk- and soyinduced gastroenteropathies in infants and children.⁵

CLINICAL FEATURES

Immunologically mediated reactions to foods are expressed clinically by a diversity of signs and symptoms, ranging from abdominal pain to generalized anaphylaxis. These clinical expressions of food allergy . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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