Prevalence of multiple foods sensitization in Pakistani population

Food allergy is an immunological malfunction,categorized as type i hypersensitivity. many foods share homologous proteins therefore sensitization to one food can result in positive tests or clinical reactivity to related foods developing multiple foods sensitization sometimes leading to the development of allergy symptoms. this study evaluates the prevalence of multiple foods hypersensitivity in pakistan. data of allergy patients visiting allergy asthma & immunology centre,islamabad was obtained from 2010 to 2013. standard skin prick test (spt) was used to detect sensitization to egg,milk,beef,mutton,chicken,fish,peanuts,wheat,rice,soya,corn,banana,pulses and yeast. spt with house dust mite allergens (der p1 and der f1) and mixed pollen allergens from paper mulberry,cocklebur and grasses was also performed. the prevalence of sensitization to food,hdm and pollen allergens was 38%,80.25% and 53.50% respectively among the sample population. a gender skewness was observed with number of male patients significantly higher (p<0.0001) than the female patients. among the food allergen group tested,the prevalence of wheat,yeast,milk and egg sensitivity was significantly higher (p<0.0001). out of a total of 812 patients where positive spt was demonstrated,53% patients showed reaction to 4-6 foods and 29.6% were spt positive to more than 7 foods. hence it can be concluded that since atopic individuals are genetically predisposed therefore they are more susceptible to having multiple foods sensitization. copyright 2016 zoological society of pakistan.