Food adverse reactions in patients over 14 years of age suffering from atopic eczema

Adverse reactions to food represent one of the most common complaints in the general population and particularly in childhood. Only few population-based data exist on the association of food adverse reactions and atopic eczema (AE). The objective of this study was an assessment of anamnestical data in patients with AE obtained in questionnaires and statistical evaluation of the relations among individual parameters monitored, which include the occurrence of adverse food reactions, the onset of AE, occurrence of asthma bronchiale (AB), occurrence of seasonal or perennial rhinoconjunctivitis (RC). Our findings have demonstrated that the onset of AE before 5 years of age is statististically significantly related to a greater incidence of adverse food reactions at an adult age and to more frequent flare-ups of AE caused by food. Our study demonstrates that there is a significant association between the severity of AE and the incidence of perennial RC, AB, and the worsening of AE in relation to food.