“There has been a lot of research and increasing awareness about food allergy, but this has certainly not affected minorities, and they’re even dying more from these diseases,” Dr. Mahdavinia said.
Studies also have shown that African-American and Hispanic children have a higher rate of emergency department visits for food allergy, compared with white children. Dr. Mahdavinia said this might be because the severity of their allergies is worse, because they have less access to primary care, they have inferior practices at home to manage the allergies, and that higher asthma rates in these children is likely leading to worse food allergy incidents.
Dr. Mahboobeh Mahdavinia
Compared with white children, African American children were significantly more likely to have allergy to wheat, soy, corn, fish, and shellfish (P less than .01). Compared with white children, Hispanic children were significantly more likely to have allergy to corn, fish, and shellfish (P less than .01) (J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2017 Mar-Apr;5[2]:352-7.e1).