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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Nutrients

FoodAllergenSensitization in a Five-Year Allergy Clinic Cohort and Food Allergy Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours in Romanian Adults: Two Observational Studies

  • Valentin-Cristian Iovin1
  • Diana Lighezan2
  • Andreea-Adriana Neamțu3,4,5,6
  • Corina Porr7
  • Anca-Maria Căpraru8,9
  • Cristian Sarău10
  • Iulius Jugănaru11,12
  • Adriana Muntean13
  • Meda-Ada Bugi12,14
  • Carmen Panaitescu15,16,17
17 affiliations
  1. 1Doctoral School Department, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
  2. 2Department of Hematology, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
  3. 3Department of Toxicology, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
  4. 4Research Centre for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
  5. 5Department of Pathology, Clinical County Emergency Hospital of Arad, 310037 Arad, Romania
  6. 6Department of Pathology, “Pius Brînzeu” Clinical County Emergency Hospital, 300723 Timișoara, Romania
  7. 7Allergology Department, Faculty of Medicine, “Lucian Blaga” University, 550169 Sibiu, Romania
  8. 8Doctoral School, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania
  9. 9Department of Pharmacy, Poiana Mare Psychiatry Hospital, Gării Str. No. 40, 207470 Poiana Mare, Romania
  10. 10Medical Semiology I, Department V Internal Medicine I, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
  11. 11Department XI Pediatrics, Discipline I Pediatrics, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
  12. 12Department of Pediatrics I, “Louis Țurcanu” Children’s Emergency Hospital, 300011 Timișoara, Romania
  13. 13Department of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
  14. 14Department of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Vasile Goldiș”, 310025 Arad, Romania
  15. 15Department III Functional Sciences, Physiology Discipline, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
  16. 16Centre of Immuno-Physiology and Biotechnologies (CIFBIOTEH), “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
  17. 17OncoGen Centre, “Pius Brînzeu” Clinical County Emergency Hospital, 300723 Timișoara, Romania
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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Food allergy is reported far more often than it is confirmed by testing. Both ends of that gap matter nutritionally: dietary restriction adopted without confirmation, and unpreparedness for severe reactions. We characterized each end in two cohorts from one source population. Methods: Study 1 retrospectively analyzed 4404 patients assessed in a single allergy service over 2020–2024, with food sensitization being a positive skin prick test and/or specific IgE to at least one food allergen. Study 2 surveyed 500 adults by convenience sampling, using a 27-item questionnaire with a 10-point knowledge score. In Study 1, testing was indication-driven, and the food-tested subset could not be identified, so all Study 1 figures are proportions among patients assessed, not prevalence estimates. Analyses reported effect sizes with confidence intervals throughout, applied Holm–Bonferroni adjustment to the confirmatory comparisons, and used multivariable regression. Results: Food sensitization was documented in 185 of 4404 patients (4.2%; 95% CI 3.6–4.8) and concentrated in early childhood (13.05% at 0–5 years), age being the only independent demographic predictor (adjusted OR for 0–5 vs. 18–30 years: 4.61; 95% CI 2.87–7.41)—an association confounded with the indication to test. Of food-sensitized patients with a recorded severity score, one third (34.1%) had no active symptoms at assessment. In the community cohort, 17.6% (95% CI 14.5–21.2) self-reported a food allergy, but only 6.6% (95% CI 4.7–9.1) reported one as test-confirmed—a gap of 11.0 percentage points (95% CI 8.5–14.0). The mean knowledge score was 5.08/10: 70.2% knew anaphylaxis can be fatal, yet only 47.8% named adrenaline as first-line treatment, 33.4% had never heard of an auto-injector, and 15.4% always read allergen labels. Educational level and health-sector training were the strongest predictors of knowledge. Conclusions: Food allergy is labelled more readily than it is verified, while preparedness for severe reactions is thin. Better access to diagnostic confirmation and public information stratified by educational attainment are needed. The two cohorts share a source population but are differently selected and measure different constructs, so their proportions are complementary rather than interchangeable.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{iovin2026foodallergensensitization,
  title = {{FoodAllergenSensitization in a Five-Year Allergy Clinic Cohort and Food Allergy Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours in Romanian Adults: Two Observational Studies}},
  author = {Valentin-Cristian Iovin and Diana Lighezan and Andreea-Adriana Neamțu and Corina Porr and Anca-Maria Căpraru and Cristian Sarău and Iulius Jugănaru and Adriana Muntean and Meda-Ada Bugi and Carmen Panaitescu},
  journal = {Nutrients},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3390/nu18203324},
  url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3324},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - FoodAllergenSensitization in a Five-Year Allergy Clinic Cohort and Food Allergy Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours in Romanian Adults: Two Observational Studies
AU  - Valentin-Cristian Iovin
AU  - Diana Lighezan
AU  - Andreea-Adriana Neamțu
AU  - Corina Porr
AU  - Anca-Maria Căpraru
AU  - Cristian Sarău
AU  - Iulius Jugănaru
AU  - Adriana Muntean
AU  - Meda-Ada Bugi
AU  - Carmen Panaitescu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - Nutrients
DO  - 10.3390/nu18203324
UR  - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3324
AB  - Background/Objectives: Food allergy is reported far more often than it is confirmed by testing. Both ends of that gap matter nutritionally: dietary restriction adopted without confirmation, and unpreparedness for severe reactions. We characterized each end in two cohorts from one source population. Methods: Study 1 retrospectively analyzed 4404 patients assessed in a single allergy service over 2020–2024, with food sensitization being a positive skin prick test and/or specific IgE to at least one food allergen. Study 2 surveyed 500 adults by convenience sampling, using a 27-item questionnaire with a 10-point knowledge score. In Study 1, testing was indication-driven, and the food-tested subset could not be identified, so all Study 1 figures are proportions among patients assessed, not prevalence estimates. Analyses reported effect sizes with confidence intervals throughout, applied Holm–Bonferroni adjustment to the confirmatory comparisons, and used multivariable regression. Results: Food sensitization was documented in 185 of 4404 patients (4.2%; 95% CI 3.6–4.8) and concentrated in early childhood (13.05% at 0–5 years), age being the only independent demographic predictor (adjusted OR for 0–5 vs. 18–30 years: 4.61; 95% CI 2.87–7.41)—an association confounded with the indication to test. Of food-sensitized patients with a recorded severity score, one third (34.1%) had no active symptoms at assessment. In the community cohort, 17.6% (95% CI 14.5–21.2) self-reported a food allergy, but only 6.6% (95% CI 4.7–9.1) reported one as test-confirmed—a gap of 11.0 percentage points (95% CI 8.5–14.0). The mean knowledge score was 5.08/10: 70.2% knew anaphylaxis can be fatal, yet only 47.8% named adrenaline as first-line treatment, 33.4% had never heard of an auto-injector, and 15.4% always read allergen labels. Educational level and health-sector training were the strongest predictors of knowledge. Conclusions: Food allergy is labelled more readily than it is verified, while preparedness for severe reactions is thin. Better access to diagnostic confirmation and public information stratified by educational attainment are needed. The two cohorts share a source population but are differently selected and measure different constructs, so their proportions are complementary rather than interchangeable.
SN  - 2072-6643
ER  -