Comparison of nutrient intake in adolescents and adults with and without food allergies

Kate Maslin, Carina Venter, Heather Mackenzie, Berber Vlieg-Boerstra, Taraneh Dean, Isolde Sommer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Exclusion diets for the management of food allergy pose a risk of nutritional deficiencies and inadequate growth in children, yet less is known about their effect in adolescents and adults. The aim of this study was to compare the dietary intake of adolescents and adults with food allergies to a control group.
Methodology: A food allergic and a control group were recruited from Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Participants were recruited from a food allergy charity, allergy clinics, a local school and university, and previous research studies. Macro and micronutrient intake data were obtained using a 4-day estimated food diary. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data was collected via a constructed questionnaire.
Results: This cross-sectional study included 81 adolescents (48 food allergic and 33 controls) aged 11-18y and 70 adults aged 19-65y (23 food allergic and 47 controls). Overall 19 (22.8%) adolescents and 19 (27.1%) adults took dietary supplements, with no difference according to food allergic status. Adolescents with food allergy had higher intakes of niacin and selenium than adolescents without (p<0.05). This difference persisted when dietary supplements were removed from the analysis. Adults with food allergies had higher intakes of folate and zinc than those without (p < 0.05), however this was not observed when dietary supplements were removed from the analysis. Across all participants, the intake of several micronutrients was suboptimal. There was no difference in protein or calorie intake, or body mass index, according to food allergic status.
Conclusions: The dietary intake of food allergic participants was broadly similar and in some cases better than that of control participants. However suboptimal intakes of several micronutrients were observed across all participants, suggesting poor food choices.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)209-217
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics
Volume31
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jul 2017

Bibliographical note

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Maslin K., Venter C., MacKenzie H., Vlieg‐Boerstra B., Dean T. & Sommer I. (2018) Comparison of nutrient intake in adolescents and adults with and without food allergies. J Hum Nutr Diet. 31, 209–217, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12495. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.

Keywords

  • food allergies
  • nutrient intake
  • children

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