
Last month, we shared the latest research on food allergy trends among children. The study found that approximately 7.6%—or 6 million—kids in the U.S. have a food allergy. Now we have more breaking food allergy news to share—this time concerning adults.
In early January, The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study on the prevalence of food allergies among U.S. adults. What did they discover? Approximately 1 in 10 American adults (~26 million) have a food allergy.
This brings the total number of Americans with a food allergy to approximately 32 million, more than doubling the food allergy population! Previous estimates had the population at roughly 15 million Americans.
Below are a few more key findings:
- Adult onset of food allergies is becoming more common; nearly half of food-allergic adults have at least one food allergy that began in adulthood.
- The most common allergies among adults are shellfish (7.2 million), milk (4.7 million), peanuts (4.5 million), tree nuts (3 million), and fin fish (2.2 million).
- Food allergies occur more often in non-white adults than in white adults.
- Nearly 40% of adults with a food allergy reported at least one food allergy-related ER visit in their lifetime.
- Adults ages 30-39 had higher rates of food allergy than younger adults. Adults over 60 had lower rates than other adult age groups.
One thing is clear: food allergies are on the rise, and we need greater education, awareness, and research on this troubling health trend.
A big thanks to Dr. Gupta and her team for their ongoing efforts to shine a light on the rising food allergy epidemic in our country.
- Susannah and the Allergy Amulet Team