Different prevalence of allergic diseases between children allergic to cow's milk, egg and fish

Background: Food allergy is frequently associated with other allergic diseases. Allergy to certain foods might be associated to higher risk of other allergic diseases. Objective: The aim of the study was to verify the differences in the prevalence of other allergic diseases between three groups of children allergic to cow9s milk, egg and fish. Methods: Three groups of children aged 3 to 12, with food allergy were analyzed: Group A: cow9s milk allergy (n=55); Group B: egg allergy (n=35); Group C: fish allergy (n=20), mean age 7.3, 8.2 and 7.9. The type of manifestations of food allergy (mucocutaneous, gastrointestinal and respiratory) and the prevalence of associated allergic diseases -bronchial asthma (BA), rhinitis (R) and atopic dermatitis (AD) in each group were analysed. Results: The mucocutaneous symptoms are the most prevalent in all groups (84%, 73% and 90% respectively). The gastrointestinal symptoms are less prevalent in group B than in the others (43%, 25%, 42%). The respiratory symptoms are much more frequent in group C (8%, 26%, 60%). The coexistent allergic diseases were: in group A lower prevalence - BA: 32%; R: 42%; DA: 20%; in Group B the most prevalent allergic disease is AD (68%) with the prevalence of BA 58% and R 50%; and in contrast in Group C, BA has the highest prevalence (80%), followed by DA (60%) and R (40%). In all groups The prevalence of allergic diseases was higher than in the general pediatric population. Conclusion: Cow9s milk allergy has lower frequency of association with other allergic diseases. Egg allergy shows a higher association with AD. Fish allergy has high frequency of respiratory manifestations and a stronger association with BA.