Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T22:44:42.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Food allergy: nuts and tree nuts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2007

Jesus F. Crespo*
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain
John M. James
Affiliation:
Colorado Allergy and Asthma Centers, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Consuelo Fernandez-Rodriguez
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain
Julia Rodriguez
Affiliation:
Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author: Jesus F. Crespo, fax +34 913908261, [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Nuts are a well-defined cause of food allergy, which affect approximately 1 % of the general population in the UK and the USA. There do appear to be differences in the frequency of nut allergy between different countries because of different dietary habits and cooking procedures. For example, in the USA and France, peanuts are one of the most frequent causes of food allergy, but in other countries, it seems to be less common. Genetic factors, in particular, appear to play a role in the development of peanut allergy. While the majority of nut allergens are seed storage proteins, other nut allergens are profilins and pathogenesis-related protein homologues, considered as panallergens because of their widespread distribution in plants. The presence of specific IgE antibodies to several nuts is a common clinical finding, but the clinical relevance of this cross-reactivity is usually limited. Allergic reactions to nuts appear to be particularly severe, sometimes even life-threatening, and fatal reactions following their ingestion have been documented. Food allergy is diagnosed by identifying an underlying immunological mechanism (i.e. allergic testing), and establishing a causal relationship between food ingestion and symptoms (i.e. oral challenges). In natural history investigations carried out in peanut-allergic children, approximately 20 % of the cases outgrew their allergy or developed oral tolerance. The treatment of nut allergies should include patient and family education about avoiding all presentations of the food and the potential for a severe reaction caused by accidental ingestion. Patients and families should be instructed how to recognise early symptoms of an allergic reaction and how to treat severe anaphylaxis promptly.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

References

Beyer, K, Morrow, E, Li, XM, Bardina, L, Bannon, GA, Burks, AW & Sampson, HA (2001) Effects of cooking methods on peanut allergenicity. J Allergy Clin Immunol 107, 10771081.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bock, SA & Atkins, FM (1989) The natural history of peanut allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 83, 900904.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bock, SA, Munoz-Furlong, A & Sampson, HA (2001) Fatalities due to anaphylactic reactions to foods. J Allergy Clin Immunol 107, 191193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Breiteneder, H & Ebner, C (2000) Molecular and biochemical classification of plant-derived food allergens. J Allergy Clin Immunol 106, 2736.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruijnzeel-Koomen, C, Ortolani, C, Aas, K, Bindslev-Jensen, C, Bjorksten, B, Moneret-Vautrin, D & Wuthrich, B (1995) Adverse reactions to food. European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology Subcommittee. Allergy 50, 623635.Google ScholarPubMed
Burks, W, Helm, R, Stanley, S & Bannon, GA (2001) Food allergens. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 1, 243248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Busse, PJ, Nowak-Wegrzyn, AH, Noone, SA, Sampson, HA & Sicherer, SH (2002) Recurrent peanut allergy. N Engl J Med 347, 15351536.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crespo, JF, Pascual, C, Burks, AW, Helm, RM & Esteban, MM (1995) Frequency of food allergy in a paediatric population from Spain. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 6, 3943.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eigenmann, PA (2003) Future therapeutic options in food allergy. Allergy 58, 12171223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Emmett, SE, Angus, FJ, Fry, JS & Lee, PN (1999) Perceived prevalence of peanut allergy in Great Britain and its association with other atopic conditions and with peanut allergy in other household members. Allergy 55, 380385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ewan, PW (1996) Clinical study of peanut and nut allergy in 62 consecutive patients: new features and associations. BMJ 312, 10741078.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleischer, DM, Conover-Walker, MK, Christie, L, Burks, AW & Wood, RA (2003) The natural progression of peanut allergy: Resolution and possibility of recurrence. J Allergy Clin Immunol 112, 183189.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleischer, DM, Conover-Walker, MK, Christie, L, Burks, AW & Wood, RA (2004) Peanut allergy: recurrence and its management. J Allergy Clin Immunol 114, 11951201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grundy, J, Matthews, S, Bateman, B, Dean, T & Arshad, SH (2002) Rising prevalence of allergy to peanut in children: Data from 2 sequential cohorts. J Allergy Clin Immunol 110, 784789.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hourihane, JO, Dean, TP & Warner, JO (1996) Peanut allergy in relation to heredity, maternal diet, and other atopic diseases: results of a questionnaire survey, skin prick testing, and food challenges. BMJ 313, 518521.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hourihane, JO, Rhodes, HL, Jones, AM, Veys, P & Connett, GJ (2005) Resolution of peanut allergy following bone marrow transplantation for primary immunodeficiency. Allergy 60, 536537.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howell, WM, Turner, SJ, Hourihane, JO, Dean, TP & Warner, JO (1998) HLA class II DRB1, DQB1 and DPB1 genotypic associations with peanut allergy: evidence from a family-based and case-control study. Clin Exp Allergy 28, 156162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kay, AB (2001) Allergy and allergic diseases. First of two parts. N Engl J Med 344, 3037.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kramer, MS (2001) Maternal antigen avoidance during lactation for preventing atopic disease in infants of women at high risk (Cochrane Review). In The Cochrane Library 1. Oxford: Update Software.Google Scholar
Kull, I, Hallner, E, Lilja, G, Ohman-Johansson, AC, Oman, H & Wickman, M (1999) Peanut oil in vitamin A and D preparations: reactions to skin test and manifestation of symptoms. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 10, 2126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Legendre, C, Caillat-Zucman, S, Samuel, D, Morelon, S, Bismuth, H, Bach, JF & Kreis, H (1997) Transfer of symptomatic peanut allergy to the recipient of a combined liver-and-kidney transplant. N Engl J Med 337, 822824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leung, DY, Sampson, HA, Yunginger, JW, Burks, AW Jr, Schneider, LC, Wortel, CH, Davis, FM, Hyun, JD & Shanahan, WR Jr (2003) Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Study Team. Effect of anti-IgE therapy in patients with peanut allergy. N Engl J Med 348, 986993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Midoro-Horiuti, T, Brooks, EG & Goldblum, RM (2001) Pathogenesis-related proteins of plants as allergens. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 87, 261271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moneret-Vautrin, DA, Rance, F, Kanny, G, Olsewski, A, Gueant, JL, Dutau, G & Guerin, L (1998) Food allergy to peanuts in France – evaluation of 142 observations. Clin Exp Allergy 28, 11131119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nowak-Wegrzyn, AH, Sicherer, SH, Conover-Walker, MK & Wood, RA (2001) Food allergy after pediatric organ transplantation with tacrolimus immunosuppression. J Allergy Clin Immunol 108, 146147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ortolani, C, Ballmer-Weber, BK & Hansen, KS (2000) Hazelnut allergy: a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge multicenter study. J Allergy Clin Immunol 105, 577581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pastorello, EA, Vieths, S, Pravettoni, V, et al. (2002) Identification of hazelnut major allergens in sensitive patients with positive double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge results. J Allergy Clin Immunol 109, 563570.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phan, TG, Strasser, SI, Koorey, D, McCaughan, GW, Rimmer, J, Dunckley, H, Goddard, L & Adelstein, S (2003) Passive transfer of nut allergy after liver transplantation. Arch Intern Med 163, 237239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Primeau, MN, Kagan, R, Joseph, L, Lim, H, Dufresne, C, Duffy, C, Prhcal, D & Clarke, A (2000) The psychological burden of peanut allergy as perceived by adults with peanut allergy and the parents of peanut-allergic children. Clin Exp Allergy 30, 11351143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rance, F, Bidat, E, Bourrier, T & Sabouraud, D (2003) Cashew allergy: observations of 42 children without associated peanut allergy. Allergy 58, 13111314.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rhim, GS & McMorris, MS (2001) School readiness for children with food allergies. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 86, 172176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roux, KH, Teuber, SS & Sathe, SK (2003) Tree nut allergens. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 131, 234244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sampson, HA (2001) Utility of food-specific IgE concentrations in predicting symptomatic food allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 107, 891896.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sampson, HA (2002) Peanut allergy. N Engl J Med 346, 12941299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sicherer, SH, Burks, AW & Sampson, HA (1998) Clinical features of acute allergic reactions to peanut and tree nuts in children. Pediatrics 102, 16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sicherer, SH, Munoz-Furlong, A, Burks, AW & Sampson, HA (1999) Prevalence of peanut and tree nut allergy in the US determined by a random digit dial telephone survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol 103, 559562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sicherer, SH, Furlong, TJ, Maes, HH, Desnick, RJ, Sampson, HA & Gelb, BD (2000) Genetics of peanut allergy: a twin study. J Allergy Clin Immunol 106, 5356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sicherer, SH, Furlong, TJ, Munoz-Furlong, A, Burks, AW & Sampson, HA (2001) A voluntary registry for peanut and tree nut allergy: characteristics of the first 5149 registrants. J Allergy Clin Immunol 108, 128132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sicherer, SH (2002) Clinical update on peanut allergy. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 88, 350361.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tariq, SM, Stevens, M, Matthews, S, Ridout, S, Twiselton, R & Hide, DW (1996) Cohort study of peanut and tree nut sensitisation by age of 4 years. BMJ 313, 514517.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Teuber, SS, Comstock, SS, Sathe, SK & Roux, KH (2003) Tree nut allergy. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 3, 5461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zeiger, RS (2003) Food allergen avoidance in the prevention of food allergy in infants and children. Pediatrics 111, 16621671.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed