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Article: Food allergies increasing in US kids, study says
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- October 22, 2008
- Author:
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Food allergies in American children seem to be on the rise, now affecting about 3 million kids, according to the first federal study of the problem.
Experts said that might be because parents are more aware and quicker to have their kids checked out by a doctor.
About 1 in 26 children had food allergies last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. That's up from 1 in 29 kids in 1997.
The 18 percent increase is significant enough to be considered more than a statistical blip, said Amy Branum of the CDC, the study's lead author.
Nobody knows for sure what's driving the increase. A doubling in peanut allergies _ noted in earlier studies _ ...