PRIMARY PREVENTION AS AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE EPIDEMIC OF ALLERGIC DISEASES

Abstract

Rapid growth of incidence of allergic diseases in the last 40 years allows us naming allergy the pandemic of the XXI century. Allergic diseases harm not only individual patients, but the society in whole in the form of progressive increase in direct and indirect costs. According to the latest estimates, more than 150 mn people suffer from allergies, whereas more than 250 mn patients in Europe are expected to suffer from allergies in the next decade. National and international documents stating rules of preventing and treating allergic diseases must become current guidelines for clinicians everywhere. The article summarizes the latest recommendations of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (2014) and of the National Food Allergy Guidelines. The article presents evidence-based methods of primary allergy prevention in infants. Modern primary food allergy prevention may consist of exclusively breast feeding for at least 4 6 months; if breast feeding is not feasible, prevention may be attained by means of using preventive hypoallergenic formulas with confirmed low allergenicity and not introducing supplemental feeding before the age of 4 months. Evidence-based studies do not confirm effectiveness of any dietary restrictions of pregnant and nursing women regardless of whether they belong to the risk group or not.

Keywords

• allergy
• atopic disease
• allergic march
• risk of development
• allergen
• cow milk
• breast milk
• prevention
• infants