Investigation on self-reported food allergy and its familial aggregation among college students

ObjectiveTo analyze the familial aggregation of college students′ self-reported food allergy in college students, provide baseline information on the prevalence of food allergy in college students and theoretical basis for preventing, treating and managing food allergy.MethodsIn 2019, cross-sectional study was done through 2 538 college students from 6 universities in Nanchang by multi-stage cluster random sampling. The investigation contents included the food allergy status, main influencing factors and family history of food allergy, etc. Data was analysed statistically with SPSS 17.0 software.Results2 313 valid questionnaires were collected. The incidence of self-reported food allergy was 15.69%(363/2 313). Most of them was rapid food allergy. About half students did not know about food allergy, and more than 70% of them did not pay attention to food labels. The FA had obvious familial aggregation.There was a significant difference between the incidence of food allergy among students with positive family history and those with negative family history (χ2=28.696, P<0.05). There was a significant difference in the incidence of food allergy between students with one or both parents of food allergy and those without (χ2=26.184, P<0.05). The heritability of food allergy in first-degree relatives (parents) was 44.4%, stratified by exposure to smoke, the heritability of food allergy in first-degree relatives (parents) in smoke environment was 73.8%, and the heritability in smoke-free environment was 15.2%.ConclusionThe rate of self-reported food allergy among college students was 15.7%. Food allergy had obvious familial aggregation, which was influenced by genetic factors. The students were lack of understanding of food allergy, so it is necessary to strengthen relevant knowledge publicity and health education among college students.