Birth Cohort Update

The EuroPrevall birth cohort study is investigating food allergies in the first 2.5 years of life. Its goals include defining the incidence of food allergies and other factors which may affect allergies such as climate and culture.

It is planned to enrol over 8 500 newborns Europewide by the spring of 2007. Standardised questionnaires will be used to collect baseline data from the mothers, followed by standardised telephone interviews when their child is 12, 24, and 30 months old. Children showing symptoms of a possible food-related allergy will be assessed in the clinic and allergy testing will be conducted, including skin-prick tests, serum IgE measurement, and double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges. For each child with a suspected food allergy, 2 age-matched healthy controls will also be followed.

As of the end of November, over 10,000 families have from the nine centres have agreed to participate in the study. In addition, 213 babies have developed symptoms of a possible food-related allergy and 81 have a positive diagnosis of food allergy.

The Birth cohort study is co-ordinated by Kirsten Beyer and Doreen McBride of the Charite Clinic in Berlin and is running in eight other countries: Greece, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the UK