Intestinal allergy : food hypersensitivity in infancy and childhood

Abstract

Gastrointestinal symptoms are frequently attributes to food hypersensitivity both by patients and increasingly by the medical community. Indeed, up to 35 % of the general population in Western countries think they have food allergy, although this is objectively confirmed in only 1-2% of the population. The incident of food hypersensitivity appears to be on the rise, in parallel with the overall rise in atopic disorders over the last 30-40 years and concurrent with a decline in infectious disorders. This has lead to the emergence if the 'hygiene hypothesis' which raised awareness of the rose of microbes and their products in immune regulation; more recently this had prompted important observations on the impact of beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in the prevention of allergic processes. This article refers to clinical scenarios of food hypersensitivity in infancy, in the older child and young adult; Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE), celiac disease, milk allergy and lactose intolerance