In the last 10 years in Italy there was a 34% increase from the food allergies among children: this is demonstrated by an Italian study, “Epifa: Epidemiology of Pediatric Italian Food Allergy”, recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Global. According to data, between 2009 and 2021 in our country, food-related allergic diseases among the youngest children saw significant growth, with a +34%: a percentage that rises to +120.8% for children under 3 years of age. The products on which there has been the most evident growth are milk (55%), egg (33%) e dried fruit (24%).
Italian children are increasingly allergic
The research, conducted in the Campania region and promoted by the Italian Society of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Pediatric Nutrition (Sigenp), monitored a sample of 105,151 children aged between 0 and 14 years for more than ten yearsfrom 2009 to 2021. Roberto Berni Canani, coordinator of the study and professor of pediatrics at the University of Naples Federico II explained: “A progressive increase in the prevalence, i.e. +34.4%, of food allergies in pediatric age was observed The increase was even greater in children under 3 years of age: +120.8%”.
The data also highlights an increasing trend in comparison to the severity of allergies food in pediatric age. “One in 4 children who developed a food allergy had a history of anaphylactic shock. The results are in line with previous data obtained by the same research group by querying the Ministry of Health database where a 400% increase in cases of emergency room visits in Italy for food-induced anaphylaxis in the last decade was detected.” So, not just more cases of allergies, but cases that also manifest themselves with increasingly serious symptoms. “Extending these results to the general Italian pediatric population for a total of 7,636,545 children and young people up to 14 years of age – explained Berni Canani – we estimate that there are currently over 92,000 children in Italy suffering from food allergy”.
The causes of the surge in childhood food allergies in Italy
The researchers also tried to draw up hypotheses on what they might be the causes of a increase so important, identifying various factors that contribute to the growth of food allergies among children. According to the research team, there are “multiple causes” behind the phenomenon, from excessive prescription antibiotics And inhibitory drugs of thegastric acidityto the use of disinfectants and antiseptics”.
However, Berni Canani underlined: “A role of great importance in encouraging the appearance of food allergies is given by the continuous and unstoppable increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods in pediatric age starting from the first year of life. These ultra-processed foods, the so-called ‘junk food’ which in Italy, as well as in other countries such as the United States or Australia, is increasingly consumed by children, even the youngest, are able to alter the immune system and trigger the onset of allergies,” he concluded. In short, snacks, snacks, industrial juicesbut also foods like breakfast cerealswhich may seem harmless but are nevertheless ultra-processed products, may have contributed significantly to the increase in these pathologies.
