SYNOPSIS
The rise in food allergy in developed countries is an intriguing phenomenon that has captured the attention of both the medical research community and the media. Although we need to be circumspect about the extent to which it has risen and which countries are most affected, there is little doubt that IgE mediated food allergy and anaphylaxis were rarely reported 50 years ago but are now commonly described. The drivers for this modern day epidemic are poorly understood and indeed it is not clear whether this phenomenon is part of a 2nd wave epidemic of allergy following on from the general rise in allergic disease that was noted around the world at the end of the 21st century or whether the new food allergy epidemic is due to a new set of unique factors. Australia appears to have the highest rates of food allergy in the world. Interestingly migrants born in Asia appear protected from the development of food allergy whilst infants born in Australia to Asian parents have higher rates even than those from non-migrant families. This grand rounds will discuss potential modern-day lifestyle factors in Australia that increase the risk of food allergy and why those that migrate from elsewhere to Australia have even higher risks. This is important in the context of understanding an early healthy start to life from a population perspective.
SPEAKER
Professor Katie Allen is a Paediatric Gastroenterologist and Allergist practising in the field of Food Allergy at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. She is Theme Director of the Population Health at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Director of the NHMRC-funded Australian Centre for Food & Allergy Research and an inaugural Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Katie is Principal Investigator of the HealthNuts Study which is tracking 5300 infants to try and understand the cause of the new food allergy epidemic. She has published extensively with more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, is co-author of a book, Kids’ Food Allergy for Dummies and has a personal Chair of Food Allergy at the University of Manchester, UK.