A cross‐sectional, population‐based study on the prevalence of food allergies among children in two different socio‐economic regions of Vietnam

Abstract

Background There is a paucity of data on the prevalence of food allergy (FA) in Vietnam. A cross‐sectional, population‐based study was conducted to evaluate the current prevalence of FA among 2‐ to 6‐year‐old children in two different regions in Vietnam. Method A structured, anonymous questionnaire, modified from published FA epidemiologic studies and based on EAACI guidelines, was distributed to parents/guardians of participating children in Hue City (urban area) and Tien Giang Province (rural area). Data collected from the survey were statistically analyzed to generate the prevalence of self‐reported and doctor‐diagnosed FA and overarching pattern of food allergens. Results A total of 8620 responses were collected (response rate 81.5%). Children in Tien Giang reported more than twice the food‐induced adverse reactions seen in children in Hue (47.8% vs. 20.5%). In contrast, children in Hue showed higher self‐reported FA (9.8%) and doctor‐diagnosed FA rates (8.4%) than children in Tien Giang (7.9% and 5.0%, respectively). Crustacean was the predominant allergy‐inducing food in both areas (330 of 580 cases, 56.9%), followed by fish, mollusk, beef, milk, and egg. However, substantial variations of FA patterns were seen between the study sites. Geographic location and co‐morbidities of other allergic diseases were key risk factors for FA (P < 0.001). Conclusions The prevalence of FA in Vietnamese children seems to be higher than previously reported from other Asian countries. Crustacean is the predominant allergy‐inducing food among participating preschool children in Vietnam. The variation of reported food allergen sources across different socio‐economic locations could imply different eating habits or the participation of indoor and outdoor allergen exposure.