Health care resource use and costs in patients with food allergies: a United States insurance claims database analysis.

AIMS: Food allergies impose a large clinical and financial burden on patients and the health care system. However, little is known about the factors associated with health care resource use and costs. The aim of this study was to investigate health care resource use and costs in individuals with food allergies utilizing health care in the United States. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of insurance claims data from the Merative MarketScan Research Databases (indexed from 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2022). All-cause and food allergy-related health care resource use, direct medical, and out-of-pocket costs for medical services were estimated for 12 months post-index using International Classification of Diseases [ICD] codes. RESULTS: Of 355,520 individuals with food allergies continuously enrolled in a health insurance plan for ≥12 months pre- and post-index, 17% had a food allergy-related emergency department visit and 0.9% were hospitalized. The top patient characteristic associated with all-cause and food allergy-related hospitalizations, all-cause costs, and food allergy-related outpatient visit costs was a Charlson Comorbidity Index score of ≥2. Food allergy-related direct medical and out-of-pocket costs were high among patients with a food allergy-related visit. Out-of-pocket cost per patient per year for outpatient visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations had an estimated mean of $1631 for patients with food allergy-related visits, which is ∼11% of the total costs for these services ($14,395 per patient per year). LIMITATIONS: Study limitations are primarily related to the nature of claims databases, including generalizability and reliance on ICD codes. Nevertheless, MarketScan databases provide robust patient-level insights into health care resource use and costs from a large, commercially insured patient population. CONCLUSION: The health care resource use of patients with food allergies imposes a burden on both the health care system and on patients and their families, especially if patients had comorbidities.

Some people with food allergies might need extra visits to the doctor or hospital to manage allergic reactions to food, and these visits add to the cost of medical services for both families and for health care providers. Using records of health insurance claims, we looked into the factors affecting medical visits and costs in people with food allergies in the United States. For people with food allergies, having additional medical conditions (measured using the Charleson Comorbidity Index) were linked with extra medical visits and costs. Out-of-pocket costs were high for people who visited a doctor or hospital for their food allergies (costing each person more than $1,600 per year). The total medical cost of food allergy-related care was $14,395 per person per year, paid for by families and health care providers. Our findings might help to better manage and treat people with food allergies and reduce medical costs.

Identifying Region-Specific Allergy Sensitization Clusters to Optimize Diagnosis and Reduce Costs.

OBJECTIVE: To delineate quantitatively the allergen sensitization patterns in a large pediatric cohort and inform the selection of a region-specific panel of allergen tests for timely and cost-effective in vitro atopy screening. STUDY DESIGN: IgE levels for specific allergens from patients in the Texas Children's Health System were analyzed retrospectively. Statistical and network analyses were conducted to reveal sensitization patterns. RESULTS: Network analysis of 114 distinct allergens among 12 065 patients identified 2 main groups of allergens: environmental and food. Approximately 67.5% of patients were sensitized to environmental allergens, 47.2% to food allergens, and 7.3% to at least 1 allergen from both groups. We identified a novel panel of 13 allergens that could detect sensitization in 95% of patients, whereas panels of 7 allergens within each category effectively identified sensitization in 95% of patients with specific sensitivities. This data-driven approach is estimated to reduce overall testing costs by 52%. In agreement with literature, we observed correlations among allergens within specific categories, such as pollen, shellfish, nuts, and dairy allergens. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insights into allergen sensitization patterns informing an algorithmic testing approach tailored for primary care settings. The use of a region and population-specific test panel can efficiently identify atopy, leading to more targeted testing. This strategy has the potential to refine laboratory testing, reduce costs, and improve the appropriateness of referrals to allergy specialists, ultimately enhancing diagnostic accuracy and resource allocation.

Grains on the brain: A survey of dog owner purchasing habits related to grain-free dry dog foods.

Grain-free pet food options abound in the pet food market today, representing more than 40% of available dry dog foods in the United States. There is currently a dearth of information about the factors that contribute to a dog owner's choice of a grain-free dry dog food and if those factors are similar among countries. Therefore, the primary objective of the current survey was to identify the variables that are predictive of a dog owner's choice of a grain-free dry food across North America (Canada and the United States) and Europe (France, the United Kingdom and Germany). The survey consisted of 69 questions, took less than 15 minutes to complete and was distributed virtually via Qualtrics (Qualtrics XM, Utah, USA). A total of 3,298 responses were collected, equally distributed between countries. Multinomial logistic regression was performed in SPSS Statistics (Version 26, IBM Corp, North Castle, New York, USA). Male respondents, people from France, people who ranked the importance of ingredients in a pet food in the lower quartiles and people who do not rotate their dog's diet to provide variety were less likely to select 'no grain' when choosing a pet food. In contrast, people who believe that their dog has a food allergy, follow more than 5 specific dietary routines in their own diet, do not try to include grains in their own diet, get their information about pet food from online resources or pet store staff and look for specific claims on pet food (such as 'no fillers'), were all more likely to select 'no grain' when choosing a pet food. This survey provides insight into the similarities and differences in decision making among dog owners in North America and Europe and should be considered when exploring the effects of grain-free dog foods on canine health and well-being.

A scoping review of the caregiver burden of pediatric food allergy.

OBJECTIVE: Although a number of articles have described the psychosocial impact of raising a child with a food allergy, recent attempts at synthesizing this literature have been narrow in focus or methodologically limited. Consequently, this study aimed to synthesize both the quantitative and qualitative literature to achieve a better understanding of the psychosocial and financial burdens faced by families who raise children with food allergy. DATA SOURCES: Searches were performed on PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases for articles related to the psychosocial and financial burden experienced by individuals who care for a child with food allergy. STUDY SELECTIONS: English language, original research articles were included in this review. RESULTS: A total of 54 articles were deemed eligible for review. Results from the quantitative literature revealed that parents of children with food allergy (ie, food allergy and food protein-induced enterocolitis, proctocolitis, and enteropathy) consistently reported lower quality of life than their comparison groups. Within-group analyses suggest that this burden is increased for parents who manage multiple food allergies, severe food allergy, and comorbid allergic conditions. Thematic synthesis of the qualitative literature suggests that the psychosocial burden shouldered by parents of children with food allergy stems, in part, from the unpredictable threat of exposure and the practical and social burdens of managing a food allergy. In addition to psychosocial burdens, a small but growing body of literature suggests that families with food allergy also incur greater financial costs. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that pediatric food allergy imposes considerable burdens on parents both quantitatively and qualitatively.

The Finnish Allergy Program 2008-2018: Society-wide proactive program for change of management to mitigate allergy burden.

A 10-year national program to improve prevention and management of allergic diseases and asthma was implemented in Finland (population 5.5. million) in 2008-2018. The main aim was to reduce the long-term burden of these conditions. The strategy was changed from traditional avoidance to tolerance and resilience of the population. Health was endorsed instead of medicalization of mild symptoms. Disease severity was reevaluated, and disabling clinical manifestations were given high priority. For health care, 5 quantitative goals and 1 qualitative goal were set. For each of the goals, specific tasks, tools, and outcome evaluation were stipulated. During the program, 376 educational sessions gathered 24,000 health care participants. An information campaign targeted the lay public, and social media was used to contact people. In the 10 years of the program, the prevalence of allergic diseases and asthma leveled off. Asthma caused fewer symptoms and less disability, and 50% fewer hospital days. Food allergy diets in day care and schools decreased by half. Occupational allergies were reduced by 45%. In 2018, the direct and indirect costs of allergic diseases and asthma ranged from €1.5 billion to €1.8 billion, with the 2018 figures being 30% less than in the respective figures in 2007. The Finnish proactive and real-world intervention markedly reduced the public health burden of allergic disorders. The allergy paradigm was revisited to improve management with systematic education.

Social and financial impacts of food allergy on the economically disadvantaged and advantaged families: A qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: Differences in the qualitatively-perceived burden of food allergy based on economic disadvantages have not been previously described. OBJECTIVE: To describe the perceptions of food allergy-related social and financial issues of families who have a child with food allergy, considering the similarities and differences between economically advantaged and disadvantaged families. METHODS: From March to July 2019, we interviewed parents of children being followed up for food allergy at a tertiary allergy clinic in central Canada. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. Economic groups were categorized on the basis of the national cutoffs for low-income after-tax dollars. RESULTS: We interviewed 18 parents (17 [94.4% mothers]) of whom 6 (33.3%) were economically disadvantaged, and who represented 25 children (10 [40.0%] girls) with food allergy. We identified 3 common themes: food allergy had (1) resulted in the need to teach others in addition to contributing to tensions in relationships; (2) increased time costs for food shopping and preparation; and (3) contributed to concerns securing qualified child care. We also identified 2 divergent themes that underscored how this burden was perceived between economic groups: (1) medications and medical appointments are costly or inconvenient; and (2) allergy-friendly food choices: single vs several sources and servings. CONCLUSION: Despite some qualitative similarities in the social and financial burdens of food allergy, there are some notable differences between economic groups that underscore the need for further discussions surrounding the related policy.

Burden and socioeconomics of asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and food allergy.

INTRODUCTION: Asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and food allergy affect approximately 20% of the global population. Few studies describe the burden of the totality of these diseases and only a handful studies provide a comprehensive overview of the socioeconomic impact of these diseases. AREAS COVERED: For this narrative review, we searched Pubmed using selected keywords and inspected relevant references using a snowballing process. We provide an overview of the socioeconomic burden of allergic diseases (in particular, asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and food allergy). The focus of this review is on their epidemiology (incidence, prevalence), burden (disability-adjusted life years, quality of life), and direct and indirect costs (absenteeism and presenteeism). We have put special emphasis on differences between countries. EXPERT COMMENTARY: Both the prevalence and the burden of allergic diseases are considerable with prevalence varying between 1% and 20%. We identified a plethora of studies on asthma, but studies were generally difficult to compare due to the heterogeneity in measures used. There were only few studies on the burden of food allergy; therefore, more studies on this allergy are required. For future studies, we recommend standardizing epidemiologic, socioeconomic impact, and quality of life measures of allergic diseases.

Milk allergy most burdensome in multi-food allergic children.

BACKGROUND: Food allergy is a substantial health burden, which disproportionately affects children. Among children with food allergy, as many as 70% have multiple food allergies. Whereas the overall burden of food allergy on quality of life has been described, little is known about the burden of individual allergens. We aimed to examine the perception of burden among families with multiple food-allergic children. METHODS: Parents of children with 1 + children with multiple food allergies including milk responded to online questions, including both open-ended and closed-ended questions on food allergy-related burdens of time, financial costs, social restrictions, and emotional demands. RESULTS: Overall, 64 children (69.8% boys) of whom (73.0%) most were aged 10 and younger were included. Most had been diagnosed with food allergy in infancy and by a (pediatric) allergist. Other common allergies included peanut (65.6%), tree nuts (57.8%), egg (76.6%), and sesame (31.3%). Quantitatively, milk allergy was reported as carrying the most burden, including most socially limiting (81.5%), requiring the most planning (75.9%), causing the most anxiety (68.5%), most challenging to find "safe" or allergy-friendly foods (72.2%), and costly (81.5%). Qualitatively, we identified five themes that captured burdens associated with costs, marketing of milk products to children, risk of cross-contamination, ubiquity of milk/dairy and public confusion with lactose intolerance, and an unwillingness of others to accommodate the allergy. CONCLUSION: Parents whose children have multiple food allergies, including milk, report milk as the allergy associated with the greatest time, financial, social, and emotional burdens.

Food allergy: how expensive are they?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Food allergy remains a disease of global public health significance well known to impact social, emotional, and financial well being. This review aims to summarize the existing literature focused on the direct, indirect, and intangible costs of food allergy at the household and healthcare system levels, and begin to discuss how emerging treatment and prevention strategies may be leveraged to comprehensively care for the food allergic population with the efficient use of health resources. RECENT FINDINGS: Food allergy imposes significant costs to multiple stakeholders and largely impact families at the household level. Recent studies elucidate the need to balance the household management of food allergy with the efficient use of health resources. Overall, it remains critical that safe foods and medications remain affordable while further exploring the cost-effectiveness of early introduction, emerging food allergy therapies, and the wider use of stock epinephrine to adequately meet the public health needs of the food-allergic community. SUMMARY: Better understanding how the cost of food allergy impacts populations will help to inform more progressive policies aimed at lessening socioeconomic disparities and ultimately improve quality of life for children and adults with food allergies.

Determining Levers of Cost-effectiveness for Screening Infants at High Risk for Peanut Sensitization Before Early Peanut Introduction.

Importance: Early peanut introduction reduces the risk of developing peanut allergy, especially in high-risk infants. Current US recommendations endorse screening but are not cost-effective relative to other international strategies. Objective: To identify scenarios in which current early peanut introduction guidelines would be cost-effective. Design, Setting, and Participants: This simulation/cohort economic evaluation used microsimulations and cohort analyses in a Markov model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of early peanut introduction with and without peanut skin prick test (SPT) screening in high-risk infants during an 80-year horizon from a societal perspective. Data were analyzed from April to May 2019. Exposures: High-risk infants with early-onset eczema and/or egg allergy underwent early peanut introduction with and without peanut SPT screening (100 000 infants per treatment strategy) using a dichotomous 8-mm SPT cutoff value (stipulated in the current US guideline). Main Outcomes and Measures: Cost, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), net monetary benefit, peanut allergic reactions, severe allergic reactions, and deaths due to peanut allergy. Results: In the simulated cohort of 200 000 infants and using the base case during the model horizon, a no-screening approach had lower mean (SD) costs ($13 449 [$38 163] vs $15 279 [$38 995]) and higher mean (SD) gain in QALYs (29.25 [3.28] vs 29.23 [3.30]) vs screening but resulted in more allergic reactions (mean [SD], 1.07 [3.15] vs 1.01 [3.02]), severe allergic reactions (mean [SD], 0.53 [1.66] vs 0.52 [1.62]), and anaphylaxis involving cardiorespiratory compromise (mean [SD], 0.50 [1.59] vs 0.49 [1.47]) per individual. In deterministic SPT sensitivity analyses at base-case sensitivity and specificity rates, screening could be cost-effective at a high disutility rate (the negative effect of a food allergic reaction) (76-148 days of life traded) for an at-home vs in-clinic reaction in combination with high baseline peanut allergy prevalence among infants at high risk for peanut allergy and not yet exposed to peanuts. If an equivalent rate and disutility of accidental and index anaphylaxis was assumed and the 8-mm SPT cutoff had 0.85 sensitivity and 0.98 specificity, screening was cost-effective at a peanut allergy prevalence of 36%. Conclusions and Relevance: The results of this study suggest that the current screening approach to early peanut introduction could be cost-effective at a particular health utility for an in-clinic reaction, SPT sensitivity and specificity, and high baseline peanut allergy prevalence among high-risk infants. However, such conditions are unlikely to be plausible to realistically achieve. Further research is needed to define the health state utility associated with reaction location.

TEST (Trial of Eczema allergy Screening Tests): protocol for feasibility randomised controlled trial of allergy tests in children with eczema, including economic scoping and nested qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Early onset eczema is associated with food allergy, and allergic reactions to foods can cause acute exacerbations of eczema. Parents often pursue dietary restrictions as a way of managing eczema and seek allergy testing for their children to guide dietary management. However, it is unclear whether test-guided dietary management improves eczema symptoms, and whether the practice causes harm through reduced use of conventional eczema treatment or unnecessary dietary restrictions. The aim of the Trial of Eczema allergy Screening Tests Study is to determine the feasibility of conducting a trial comparing food allergy testing and dietary advice versus usual care, for the management of eczema in children. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Design: A single centre, two-group, individually randomised, feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) with economic scoping and a nested qualitative study. SETTING: General Practioner (GP) surgeries in the west of England. PARTICIPANTS: children aged over 3 months and less than 5 years with mild to severe eczema. INTERVENTIONS: allergy testing (structured allergy history and skin prick tests) or usual care. Sample size and outcome measures: we aim to recruit 80 participants and follow them up using 4-weekly questionnaires for 24 weeks. Nested qualitative study: We will conduct ~20 interviews with parents of participating children, 5-8 interviews with parents who decline or withdraw from the trial and ~10 interviews with participating GPs. Economic scoping: We will gather data on key costs and outcomes to assess the feasibility of carrying out a cost-effectiveness analysis in a future definitive trial. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been reviewed by the Health Research Authority and given a favourable opinion by the NHS REC (West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee, Reference Number 18/WM/0124). Findings will be submitted for presentation at conferences and written up for publication in peer-reviewed journals, which may include mixed-method triangulation and integration of the quantitative and qualitative findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN15397185; Pre-results.

Providing cost-effective care for food allergy.

OBJECTIVE: To review the cost-effectiveness of food allergy management strategies. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTIONS: A narrative review and synthesis of literature identified using a PubMed search of relevant articles describing cost-effectiveness evaluations of food allergy management. RESULTS: Screening at-risk infants for peanut allergy carries risk of overdiagnosis and is not cost-effective. Evidence suggests that cost-effective care could be better optimized by minimizing delay in oral food challenges for eligible patients, clarifying the role of precautionary allergen labeling, incorporating patient-preference sensitive care in activation of emergency medical services for resolved allergic reactions, and considering value-based pricing and school-supply models for epinephrine. Finally, the annual value-based cost (willingness to pay [WTP] $100,000/quality-adjusted life years [QALY]) of peanut immunotherapy has been estimated to be between $1568 and $6568 for epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) and between $1235 and $5235 for probiotic with peanut oil immunotherapy (POIT), with each therapy showing more favorable cost-effectiveness with greater improvements in health utility, particularly if sustained unresponsiveness can be achieved. CONCLUSION: Many aspects of food allergy management are not cost-effective, and recent evaluations suggest a greater role for incorporating patient and family preferences into guideline-based and traditionally reflexive management decisions. Caregiver understanding of food allergy screening tradeoffs is critical, given that screening children before allergen exposure has significant costs and results in overdiagnosis, especially when oral food challenges are omitted from diagnostic algorithms. Cost-effectiveness analysis can help to identify important decision levers in patient management across a wide range of topics. Further research is needed to better understand health state utilities of specific patient populations.

Economic burden of food allergy: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the economic burden of food allergy (FA) worldwide. DATA SOURCES: PubMed MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials on the Wiley platform were searched to identify literature that assessed direct, out-of-pocket, and opportunity costs of FA. All databases were searched back to their inception, and no language or date limits were applied. STUDY SELECTIONS: We included primary studies that examined direct medical, out-of-pocket, or opportunity costs and/or lost labor productivity in food allergic adults and/or children and their families. RESULTS: Eleven papers met our inclusion criteria, of which ed7 addressed direct medical, 7 addressed out-of-pocket, and 5 addressed opportunity costs. Estimates were based on data that reflected costs for a patient with FA (individual level) or costs for a household with a food allergic patient (household level). The mean individual-level direct medical costs ($2081) were much higher than the mean household-level costs ($806). The mean individual-level out-of-pocket ($1874) and opportunity ($1038) and opportunity cost were lower than the mean household-level out-of-pocket ($3339) and opportunity ($4881) costs. Household-level estimates of lost opportunity costs imposed the largest economic burden attributable to FA. CONCLUSION: Most of the economic burden studies reviewed measured components of economic burden that are unique to individuals with FA but did so in noncomparable ways. Addressing cost burdens and measuring them using standardized instruments and methods will be critical to better understand the economic burden of FA globally.

Structured intervention plan including component-resolved diagnostics helps reducing the burden of food allergy among school-aged children.

BACKGROUND: Food allergies can substantially burden patients and families by negatively affecting finances, social relationships, and personal perceptions of health. This study was performed under the Finnish Allergy Programme aimed at reducing avoidance diets to foods in schoolchildren by 50%. The main goal of this study was to investigate how many children could be freed from diet restrictions in a Finnish school district through a diagnostic algorithm including component-resolved diagnostics and food challenge. The secondary aim was to provide a crude estimate of the burden of the elimination food diets in the region, and the savings associated with the proposed intervention. METHODS: A total of 205 children on a food avoidance diet according to the school register because of food allergy were invited into the study. One hundred and fifty-seven children were interviewed, tested for IgE to extracts and allergen components and food challenged in respective order. RESULTS: After two years, 12 children still had an avoidance diet and three of them were treated successfully with sOTI; the rest suspended their avoidance diet (n = 134) or dropped out of the study (n = 11). The cost of the elimination diets was estimated in 172 700€ per year at start and 13 200€ per year at the end of the study; total savings were 128 400€ yearly. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate a 65% reduction of avoidance diets to foods in school-aged children, exceeding the 50% aim of the Finnish Allergy Programme. Therefore, it is possible to actively reduce the number of food allergy diagnoses that remain unmonitored in the society through a tailored diagnostic work-up.

Health economic analysis of allergen immunotherapy for the management of allergic rhinitis, asthma, food allergy and venom allergy: A systematic overview.

BACKGROUND: The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is developing guidelines for allergen immunotherapy (AIT) for the management of allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, IgE-mediated food allergy and venom allergy. To inform the development of clinical recommendations, we undertook systematic reviews to critically assess evidence on the effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of AIT for these conditions. This study focusses on synthesizing data and gaps in the evidence on the cost-effectiveness of AIT for these conditions. METHODS: We produced summaries of evidence in each domain, and then, synthesized findings on health economic data identified from four recent systematic reviews on allergic rhinitis, asthma, food allergy and venom allergy, respectively. The quality of these studies was independently assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool for health economic evaluations. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies satisfied our inclusion criteria. Of these, 19 studies investigated the cost-effectiveness of AIT in allergic rhinitis, of which seven were based on data from randomized controlled trials with economic evaluations conducted from a health system perspective. This body of evidence suggested that sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) and subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) would be considered cost-effective using the (English) National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) cost-effectiveness threshold of £20 000/quality-adjusted life year (QALY). However, the quality of the studies and the general lack of attention to characterizing uncertainty and handling missing data should be taken into account when interpreting these results. For asthma, there were three eligible studies, all of which had significant methodological limitations; these suggested that SLIT, when used in patients with both asthma and allergic rhinitis, may be cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £10 726 per QALY. We found one economic modelling study for venom allergy which, despite being based largely on expert opinion and plausible assumptions, suggested that AIT for bee and wasp venom allergy is only likely to be cost-effective for very high-risk groups who may be exposed to multiple exposures to venom/year (eg bee keepers). We found no eligible studies investigating the cost-effectiveness of AIT for food allergy. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the evidence to support the cost-effectiveness of AIT is limited and of low methodological quality, but suggests that AIT may be cost-effective for people with allergic rhinitis with or without asthma and in high-risk subgroups for venom allergy. We were unable to draw any conclusions on the cost-effectiveness of AIT for food allergy.

National allergy programme had little impact on parent-reported food allergies in children aged 6-7 years.

AIM: The ten-year Finnish national allergy programme was launched in 2008 to lessen the disease and psychological burden of allergy. This study assessed the prevalence of parent-reported food allergies requiring avoidance diets at primary school in children aged six and seven years. METHODS: The cohort comprised 1937 children (51% boys) who started primary school in Tampere, Finland, in August 2016. School health nurses charted parent-reported, doctor-diagnosed food allergies requiring avoidance diets as part of the routine health examination. RESULTS: We found that 127 (6.6%) children had parent-reported, doctor-diagnosed allergies to at least one food and 37 (1.9%) were allergic to basic foods, namely cows' milk, wheat and one other grain. All required an avoidance diet. The figure did not differ significantly from the 2.7% and 2.5% found by studies of this age group in 2009 and 2013, respectively. Allergies to fresh fruit and vegetables decreased from 5.8% in 2009 to 3.6% in 2016. CONCLUSION: We studied the national allergy programme that started in 2008 and found that there was a nonsignificant overall decrease in the number of children aged six to seven years on avoidance diets for allergies between 2009 and 2016. The only allergies that showed significant decreases were fresh fruit and vegetables.