'COMMON FOOD ALLERGENS IN CHILDREN (A REPORT FROM A REFERRAL CENTER IN TEHRAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES)'

The prevalence of food allergy is different in various nations. The identification of the most common food allergens is a priority in any population to provide effective preventive and curative measures. The aim of this study is to determine the most common food allergens in Iranian children. One hundred and ninety children with skin, respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms, which were thought to be due to food allergy, were studied. Total serum IgE and eosinophil count tests were measured in all patients. Allergy to 25 food allergens was determined according to the patient’s history, skin prick tests, radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and open food challenge tests. The most common food allergens were cow’s milk, tomato, egg white, egg yolk, beef and almond, in decreasing order of frequency. The order of common food allergens in this study was different from other reports that might be due to the different food habits and/or ethnic diversities.