Gastrointestinal allergy in adults

The prevalence of food allergy reaches 3% in the adult population. Chronic gastrointestinal allergy is a rare entity: 4.2% of food allergies in adults, and represents 3.2% of all intestinal disorders. Non-specific symptoms are the rule but eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders are the subject of much interest. Endoscopy and biopsies of the gastrointestinal tract help the differential diagnoses. Food allergy is suspected from the patient's history leading to skin tests and laboratory tests identifying a sensitization but allergy is only confirmed by standardized challenges or eviction diets over a sufficiently long period. New types of investigations coupling oral challenges to foods to gastroenterological techniques should be studied further.