Adverse reactions to food and food allergy in young children in Iceland and Sweden

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of adverse reactions to food and food allergy in Icelandic and Swedish 18-month-old children. DESIGN: Prospective multicentre comparative study. SETTING: Primary health care centres in Sweden and Iceland. SUBJECTS: A total of 324 children in Iceland and 328 in Sweden who attended for regular 18-month check-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Adverse reaction to food according to questionnaire, and food allergy according to skin prick tests and double blind food challenge tests. RESULTS: Adverse reactions to food were reported in 27% of children in Iceland and 28% in Sweden. Food allergy was confirmed in 2.0% in both countries. Allergy among other family members was reported in 45% of the Icelandic children and 62% in the Swedish (p < 0.001). Indoor smoking was reported by 30% of the Icelandic families and 3% of the Swedish. Respiratory infections were reported significantly more often in Icelandic children than Swedish. CONCLUSION: Adverse reactions to food and food allergy were similar in Icelandic and Swedish children. At the age of 18 months one can expect to confirm food allergy in approximately one out of 15 children with reported adverse reactions to food.