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Belmabrouk S, Abdelhedi R, Bougacha F, Bouzid F, Gargouri H, Ayadi I, Abdelmoula NB, Abdelmoula B, Abdellaoui N, BenMarzoug R, Triki N, Torjmen M, Kharrat M, Jmaiel M, Kharrat N, Rebai A. Prevalence of self-reported food allergy in Tunisia: General trends and probabilistic modeling. World Allergy Organ J 2023; 16:100813. [PMID: 37811397 PMCID: PMC10558849 DOI: 10.1016/j.waojou.2023.100813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Food allergy (FA) has become a major public health concern affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. In Tunisia, published data on FA are scarce. Methods This study, was intended to fill the gap and estimate the frequency of allergy to different foods in the Sfax region, Tunisia, within self-reported FA. One hundred twenty-five (125) children (56% males, 1-17 years old), and 306 adults (17% males, 18-70 years old) were interviewed using a bilingual questionnaire. Results The number of self-reported food allergens in this sample was 105; allergens were clustered in 8 foods: fruits, seafood, eggs, milk and dairy, cereals, nuts, vegetables, and peanuts. Cutaneous reactions were the most frequent symptoms, in both children and adults. About 40% of children and 30% of adults had a family history of FA. About 81% of adults and 38% of children are allergic to at least 1 non-food allergen. The most prevalent food allergen was the fruit group in both adults and children, followed by seafood. Most food allergies were mutually exclusive and 90% of individuals have a single FA. The relationship between self-declared FA was modeled using a Bayesian network graphical model in order to estimate conditional probabilities of each FA when other FA is present. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the prevalence of self-reported FA in Tunisia depends on dietary habits and food availability since the most frequent allergens are from foods that are highly consumed by the Tunisian population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrine Belmabrouk
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Rania Abdelhedi
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Fadia Bougacha
- National Institute of Statistics, 70, Ech-cham Road, P.O Box 265 CEDEX. Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Fériel Bouzid
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Héla Gargouri
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Imen Ayadi
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
- Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, La Soukra Road km 4 - BP 1171-3000, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Nouha Bouayed Abdelmoula
- Genomics of Signalopathies at The Service of Medicine, Medical University of Sfax, Majida Boulila Road, Tunisia
| | - Balkiss Abdelmoula
- Genomics of Signalopathies at The Service of Medicine, Medical University of Sfax, Majida Boulila Road, Tunisia
| | - Nawel Abdellaoui
- Genomics of Signalopathies at The Service of Medicine, Medical University of Sfax, Majida Boulila Road, Tunisia
| | - Riadh BenMarzoug
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Nersrine Triki
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Mouna Torjmen
- ReDCAD, National Engineering School of Sfax, La Soukra Road km4, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Mohamed Kharrat
- Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, La Soukra Road km 4 - BP 1171-3000, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Mohamed Jmaiel
- ReDCAD, National Engineering School of Sfax, La Soukra Road km4, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Najla Kharrat
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Ahmed Rebai
- Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
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