Health disparities in food allergy

Abstract

Rates of food allergy are rising worldwide, with a disproportionate amount of disease burden found in patients of Black, Asian, and Latinx descent. Recent guidelines have recommended early introduction of allergens as early as 4-months-old to mitigate the development of food allergy. However, non-White children continue to have significantly poorer outcomes with higher rates of food allergy-related emergency department visits for anaphylaxis without having equivalent access to epinephrine auto-injectors. With only half of allergists accepting Medicaid in the United States, and only one-third of Medicaid-enrolled children with food allergies having seen an allergist, underserved populations are less likely to have access to subspecialty care — a major determining factor in allergy health outcomes. In this review, we examine the health disparities that contribute to food allergy as well as possible solutions for physicians to combat inequity in allergy care.