New Study Reveals Teenagers With Serious Food Allergies Take Life-Threatening Risks

A new study published in the June issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) confirms what many doctors, parents, schools, and others are seeing first-hand, that teenagers and young adults with food allergies are taking dangerous risks.

A significant number of teens with food allergy admit to risk-taking that varies by social circumstances and perceived risks according to the study entitled ‘Risk-Taking and Coping Strategies of Food Allergic Adolescents and Young Adults’ published in the JACI, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). The study surveyed 174 subjects, ages 13-21, in an internet questionnaire. Conducted by Dr. Scott Sicherer and Margaret Sampson of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and FAAN Founder and CEO, Anne Munoz-Furlong, the study found that a significant number of teenagers with food allergies admit to taking potentially life-threatening risks with their allergies particularly when the teens are out with friends. According to the study, only 61 percent of subjects always carried their adrenaline, a life-saving medication used during anaphylactic episodes, and the carrying rates varied by activities or circumstances such as traveling (94%), when participating in sports activities (43%), wearing tight clothing (53%) or school dances (61%). The rates of carrying this life-saving medication varied presumably because of perceived risks and social pressures associated with different activities. Alarmingly, 54% admitted to purposefully ingesting a potentially unsafe food. Concern about such risks is increasing because teens are the highest risk group for fatal induced anaphylaxis. This study gives a window into the behaviors and attitudes of this age group.Adolescence is the time when young people spend more time without direct parental supervision, explore their independence, and strive to fit in with friends, even if it means taking risks to do so,said Anne Munoz-Furlong, Founder and CEO of FAAN. For a teen or young adult with a food allergy, risk taking while eating certain foods can be deadly. In a previous study of fatal reactions, we found that 69% of those that died were between age 12 and 21.This is the first study of its type to identify and evaluate risk-taking in a group of teenagers and young adults with food allergy and represents an important step toward devising better strategies to increase safety for this high-risk group, said Dr. Scott Sicherer, Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and AAAAI member. Importantly, our findings identify problems that can be addressed immediately to help reduce risks and increase the safety of teenagers and young adults with food allergy. For example our study supports targeted education of food allergy sufferers and their peers, measures to ensure that adrenaline is readily available and used when needed, and a consciousness for addressing emotional and practical barriers to safe practices for this age group. Sixty-eight percent of subjects said that education of their friends would make living with a food allergy easier, but many did not want to educate these friends and classmates themselves. The study findings also concluded that subjects with severe food allergies who take more risks are ones who are likely to feel different because of their food allergies. To educate teens, FAAN has formed a Teen Advisory Group (TAG) consisting of 20 adolescents and young adults from around the country. TAG members will help FAAN develop programs, messages, and an overall teen outreach campaign. As one FAAN teen member says, friends are your most important allies, body guards, and observers. Through increased educational programs for school administrators, nurses, and peers as well as community support groups, a reduction of risks among teens can be avoided in the future. (Source: Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network: June 2006).