Environmental and Food Allergy
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2011) | Viewed by 40001
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Allergic diseases, including asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis and food allergy now affect up to one in three adults and one in two children in economically developed countries. These conditions are responsible for appreciable morbidity and costs, both to people and to the state. The prevalence of these disorders has increased in prevalence in recent decades pointing towards the causal role of exposure to food and environmental factors in early life. Evidence is accumulating that changing patterns of exposure to food and environmental allergens and infections is driving this increase. Common indoor allergens include house dust mite, cockroach, animal dander, and certain moulds, while common food allergens include cows’ milk, hens’ egg, nuts and fish/shellfish. Other environmental factors of importance are infections, endotoxins and pollutants such as cigarette smoke. However, the dose, the duration, the route and the timing of exposures resulting in environmental and food allergy is not clear. Understanding the role of these factors and how they influence immune responses in early childhood is critical to developing and evaluating early life interventions.
This special issue focuses on the role of exposure to environmental factors and food allegens in the development of allergic diseases
S. Hasan Arshad
Guest Editor
Keywords
- allergy
- food allergy
- environment
- risk factors
- prevention
- genetics
- gene-environment interactions
- cohort studies
- clinical trials