Adult Food Allergy Is an Under-Recognized Health Problem in Northwestern Mexico: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and risk factors of IgE-mediated food allergy (FA) in adults from northwestern Mexico. Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in Culiacán, Sinaloa. A validated questionnaire was administered to 834 adults (valid response rate: 87.5%) in public spaces. Prevalence rates (95% CI) were calculated, and associations were analyzed using odds ratios (OR). Results: The prevalence rates of “current immediate-type FA”, “food-induced anaphylaxis” and adult-onset “current immediate-type FA” were 5.75% (4.27–7.49), 2.5% (1.75–4.10) and 2.99% (1.94–4.39), respectively. The most common allergens were shellfish (2.14% (1.28–3.39)) and milk (1.19% (0.57–2.19)). Epinephrine was prescribed in 9.5% of the cases with anaphylaxis history. General practitioners made the diagnosis of 63.4% of the FA cases. FA was associated with personal and family history of atopy. Conclusions: Adult FA is frequent in the population studied and could be an emerging public health problem, characterized by a high rate of adult-onset cases and suboptimal management of anaphylaxis.