With increasing need to prevent serious food allergy reactions, Korean food allergen labeling regulation has been revised repeatedly. This paper aims to summarize current statuses of food allergen labeling in Korea and foreign countries and to analyze the issue of food allergen labeling regulation. Korean food labeling regulation currently requires 19 items and 22 foods to be reported on labels (eggs, milk, buckwheat, peanut, soybean, wheat, mackerel, crab, shrimp, pork, peach, tomato, sulfite, walnut, chicken, beef, squid, shellfish, and pine nut). However, some common food triggers (for example, almond, cashew nut, and kiwi fruit) are not included in the current labeling regulation. Another issue is that the Korean labeling regulation has not yet been fully implemented for nonprepacked foods; thus, consumers still have difficulty in correctly identifying allergenic ingredients in food. It should be assessed whether warning statements for cross-contamination are reasonable. To prevent the occurrence of serious reactions from accidental ingestion, efforts must be made to solve recently raised issues including the items required to be listed on food labels, the system of standards for labeling and display methods.
Anacardium ; Arachis ; Chickens ; Decapodiformes ; Eating ; Fagopyrum ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Food Labeling ; Hypersensitivity ; Juglans ; Korea ; Lycopersicon esculentum ; Milk ; Nuts ; Perciformes ; Prunus dulcis ; Prunus persica ; Red Meat ; Shellfish ; Soybeans ; Triticum

Food allergy has emerged as an important public health problem affecting people of all ages in many countries. The prevalence varies according to age, geographic regions, and ethnicity. For several years, many studies have suggested that the prevalence of food allergy is increasing at an alarming rate, for unclear reasons. Conversely, some studies have also provided findings that sensitization to common food allergens did not increase. Increased recognition rather than an actual increase in patients with IgE-mediated food allergy might lead to the increases in the prevalence of self-reported or physician-diagnosed food allergy. It is also noted that the prevalence of food allergy differs even in the same region according to the study design, i.e., hospital-based or community-based studies. Despite these limitations, epidemiologic data are important because they provide useful information on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of food allergy. This review focuses on advances in the epidemiology of food allergy in Korean children.
Allergens ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Public Health

The present study aimed to investigate the distribution of total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels in Korean schoolchildren and to evaluate its utility in the prediction of atopy and allergic diseases. A nationwide, cross-sectional survey was conducted in first grade students from randomly selected elementary and middle schools. Total IgE levels were measured by ImmunoCAP. Skin prick tests were performed for 18 common inhalant allergens to determine the presence of atopy. Children aged 12–13 years and parents of children aged 6–7 years were asked to complete questionnaire assessing allergic diseases. The cut-off levels of total IgE were determined by analyzing receiver operating characteristic curves. The median total IgE level was 86.7 kU/L (range: 1.5–4,523.1) in 3,753 children aged 6–7 years and 94.7 kU/L (range: 1.5–3,000.0) in 3,930 children aged 12–13 years. Total IgE concentrations were higher in children with atopy or allergic diseases than in those without (all P < 0.001). At the cut-off value of 127.7 kU/L, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) were 67.1%, 75.4%, 65.4%, and 76.7%, respectively, in elementary schoolchildren. At the cut-off value of 63.0 kU/L, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 81.9%, 66.6%, 75.0%, and 75.1%, respectively, in middle schoolchildren. PPV and NPV were ≥ 70% when cut-offs of 258.8 kU/L and 38.4 kU/L were used for the diagnosis of atopy in 6–7 year-olds and 12–13 year-olds, respectively. This nationwide population-based study provided the first normal reference ranges of total IgE in Korean schoolchildren.
Allergens ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Immunoglobulins* ; Korea ; Parents ; Reference Values* ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin

PURPOSE: Although anaphylaxis is recognized as an important, life-threatening condition, data are limited regarding its triggers in different age groups. We aimed to identify anaphylaxis triggers by age in Korean children. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of medical records for children diagnosed with anaphylaxis between 2009 and 2013 in 23 secondary or tertiary hospitals in South Korea. RESULTS: A total of 991 cases (mean age=5.89±5.24) were reported, with 63.9% involving patients younger than 6 years of age and 66% involving male children. Food was the most common anaphylaxis trigger (74.7%), followed by drugs and radiocontrast media (10.7%), idiopathic factors (9.2%), and exercise (3.6%). The most common food allergen was milk (28.4%), followed by egg white (13.6%), walnut (8.0%), wheat (7.2%), buckwheat (6.5%), and peanut (6.2%). Milk and seafood were the most common anaphylaxis triggers in young and older children, respectively. Drug-triggered anaphylaxis was observed more frequently with increasing age, with antibiotics (34.9%) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (17.9%) being the most common causes. CONCLUSIONS: The most common anaphylaxis trigger in Korean children was food. Data on these triggers show that their relative frequency may vary by age.
Anaphylaxis* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Arachis ; Child* ; Contrast Media ; Egg White ; Epidemiology ; Fagopyrum ; Humans ; Juglans ; Korea ; Male ; Medical Records ; Milk ; Retrospective Studies* ; Seafood ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Triticum

PURPOSE: This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of allergic diseases in Korean schoolchildren according to their residential areas in 2010. METHODS: A nationwide, cross-sectional study was conducted in children aged 6-7 years (n=4,003) and adolescents aged 12-13 years (n=4,112) who were randomly selected. Demographic and disease-related information was obtained through a Korean version of ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) questionnaire, and skin prick tests for 18 inhalant allergens were performed. RESULTS: There was statistically significant regional difference in the prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) (P<0.05). The regions with highest and lowest prevalence in 12- to 13-year-old children were as follows: Chungcheong and Honam in "Diagnosis of AR, ever" (33.7% vs. 24.5%), Jeju and Yeongnam in "Treatment of AR, last 12 months" (25.5% vs. 18.0%), Chungcheong and Yeongnam in "Rhinitis with sensitization" (31.6% vs. 23.6%). The regions with highest and lowest prevalence in 6-7 years old children were as follows: Yeongnam and Seoul in "Diagnosis of AR, ever" (42.1% vs. 31.0%), Yeongnam and Jeju in "Treatment of AR, last 12 months" (31.8% vs. 21.9%), Jeju and Seoul in "Rhinitis with sensitization" (26.0% vs. 18.4%). We also found a regional difference in inhalant allergens among the children with "rhinitis with sensitization" CONCLUSION: The prevalence of AR in children differs according to residential areas in a nationwide survey in 2010 while there is no significant regional difference in the prevalence of asthma and AD.
Adolescent ; Allergens ; Asthma ; Child* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Prevalence* ; Rhinitis ; Seoul ; Skin ; Surveys and Questionnaires