Amaziah T Coleman1, Hemant Sharma2, Adam Robinson2, Andrea A Pappalardo3, Eileen Vincent4, Jamie L Fierstein4, Mech Frazier5, Lucy Bilaver4, Jialing Jiang4, Johnathan J Choi4, Ashwin Kulkarni4, Susan Fox6, Christopher Warren7, Mahboobeh Mahdavinia6, Mary Tobin6, Amal Assa'ad8, Ruchi Gupta9. 1. Division of Allergy and Immunology, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC. Electronic address: acoleman2@childrensnational.org. 2. Division of Allergy and Immunology, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC. 3. Department of Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill. 4. Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research and Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill. 5. Department of Research Services, Northwestern University Libraries, Chicago, Ill. 6. Division of Allergy/Immunology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill. 7. Advanced General Pediatrics and Primary Care, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. 8. Division of Allergy & Immunology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. 9. Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research and Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill; Advanced General Pediatrics and Primary Care, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Racial differences in access to allergen-free food have not been fully described among children with food allergy (FA). OBJECTIVE: To examine access to allergen-free foods among Black and White children with FA. METHODS: Black and White children with FA were enrolled in Food Allergy Outcomes Related to White and African American Racial Differences (FORWARD), a multisite prospective cohort study at 4 urban US centers. Caregivers completed questionnaires regarding access to allergen-free foods. Univariable statistics described demographics. Bivariable statistics evaluated crude associations with access to allergen-free foods. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the adjusted effect of race on access to allergen-free foods. Geospatial analyses examined the distribution of race, socioeconomic status, and food desert residence. RESULTS: Among participants (n = 336), White caregivers (88.1%) were more likely to report access to allergen-free foods than Black caregivers (59%) (P < .001). White caregivers were more likely to purchase allergen-free foods online (35.2%) than Black caregivers (12%) (P < .001). Although Black children were more likely to live in a food desert, access to allergen-free food was not related to food desert residence. In the unadjusted analysis, White children were 5.2 times as likely to have access than Black children (P < .001); after adjusting for demographics, this increase in access was no longer significant (P = .08). Other predictors of access to allergen-free foods included online food purchasing, annual household income, respondent education level, milk allergy, and child age >5 years. CONCLUSION: In the FORWARD cohort, Black children have less access to allergen-free foods than White children, but much of the difference is accounted for by socioeconomic status and other participant characteristics.
BACKGROUND: Racial differences in access to allergen-free food have not been fully described among children with food allergy (FA). OBJECTIVE: To examine access to allergen-free foods among Black and White children with FA. METHODS: Black and White children with FA were enrolled in Food Allergy Outcomes Related to White and African American Racial Differences (FORWARD), a multisite prospective cohort study at 4 urban US centers. Caregivers completed questionnaires regarding access to allergen-free foods. Univariable statistics described demographics. Bivariable statistics evaluated crude associations with access to allergen-free foods. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the adjusted effect of race on access to allergen-free foods. Geospatial analyses examined the distribution of race, socioeconomic status, and food desert residence. RESULTS: Among participants (n = 336), White caregivers (88.1%) were more likely to report access to allergen-free foods than Black caregivers (59%) (P < .001). White caregivers were more likely to purchase allergen-free foods online (35.2%) than Black caregivers (12%) (P < .001). Although Black children were more likely to live in a food desert, access to allergen-free food was not related to food desert residence. In the unadjusted analysis, White children were 5.2 times as likely to have access than Black children (P < .001); after adjusting for demographics, this increase in access was no longer significant (P = .08). Other predictors of access to allergen-free foods included online food purchasing, annual household income, respondent education level, milk allergy, and child age >5 years. CONCLUSION: In the FORWARD cohort, Black children have less access to allergen-free foods than White children, but much of the difference is accounted for by socioeconomic status and other participant characteristics.
Authors: Meredith A Dilley; Mallikarjuna Rettiganti; Lynn Christie; Erin O'Brien; Megan Patterson; Connelly Weeks; Julia Aronson; Amy M Scurlock; Tamara T Perry; Robbie D Pesek; Matthew C Bell; Joshua L Kennedy; Peggy Chandler; James Magee; Larry Simmons; Sheva K Chervinskiy; Patrick Casey; Stacie M Jones Journal: Pediatr Allergy Immunol Date: 2019-03-01 Impact factor: 6.377
Authors: Ruchi S Gupta; Elizabeth E Springston; Bridget Smith; Manoj R Warrier; Jacqueline Pongracic; Jane L Holl Journal: Clin Pediatr (Phila) Date: 2012-05-17 Impact factor: 1.168
Authors: Mahboobeh Mahdavinia; Susan R Fox; Bridget M Smith; Christine James; Erica L Palmisano; Aisha Mohammed; Zeeshan Zahid; Amal H Assa'ad; Mary C Tobin; Ruchi S Gupta Journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract Date: 2016-11-23