Risk factors for allergies
Risk factors
for allergies include a family history of allergies, certain factors in the
environment, and upper respiratory infections.
Allergies occur across the age, sex and race spectrum. An allergy
can start at any age, although children are most vulnerable to allergies,
especially allergic rhinitis.
Boys younger than 10 years of age are twice as likely as girls in
this age group to have symptoms of allergies to airborne substances.
Risk factors include
Heredity
If one parent is allergic, a child runs a
risk of 30–50% of inheriting the tendency to be allergic, although he or she
may not necessarily develop the parent’s particular type of allergy.
If both parents have allergies, their children have a 60–80%
likelihood of developing allergies.
Environment
Although heredity can determine whether
you’ll have an allergy or not, it’s usually the environment that either
protects you from developing the allergy, or sets the process in motion.
Some exposures promote allergies in individuals, as well as their
offspring (e.g. polluted environments, exposure to cigarette smoke, and
consumption of junk food and sugary drinks). On the other hand, some exposures
in the environment are protective, for example fermented foods, high-fibre
diets and exposure to farm animals.
Upper respiratory tract infections
Children who contract viral or bacterial
infections of the upper respiratory system (nose, throat and bronchial tubes)
before they’re six months old are more likely to develop allergies or
conditions such as asthma later in life.
Although emotional stress may trigger an allergy, allergies don’t
have a psychosomatic origin.
Reviewed by Prof Mike Levin, Head of Division of Asthma and Allergy at the University of Cape Town. MBChB; FCPaed; MMed; PhD Diploma Allergology; EAACI UEMS Allergy exam, FAAAAI, FACAAI. March 2018.
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