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HealthDay News October 22, 2008
Food Allergies Up 18% Among U.S. Children
The number of American kids with food allergies has soared 18 percent in the last decade, with an estimated 4 percent of children and teens now affected with the condition, a new federal report says.
In 2007, approximately 3 million children under the age of 18 were reported to have had a food or digestive allergy in the previous 12 months, compared to slightly more than 2.3 million children (3.3 percent) in 1997, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Eight types of foods account for 90 percent of all food allergies -- milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. Allergic reactions to these foods can range from a tingling sensation around the mouth and lips, to hives and even death, depending on the severity of the reaction, the report's authors said.
The report also said that children with food allergies are two to four times more likely to have asthma or other allergies, compared to children without food allergies.
From 2004 to 2006, there were approximately 9,537 hospital discharges annually for children from birth to 17 years of age who were diagnosed with a food allergy. The findings in the report, titled Food Allergy Among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and Hospitalizations, were derived from statistics from the National Health Interview Survey and the National Hospital Discharge Survey, both conducted by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. To read the full report, visit the CDC.
SOURCE: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, news release, Oct. 22, 2008
Studies on Acupuncture and Stress
Numerous studies have demonstrated the substantial benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of stress.
A 2008 study published in Anesthesia & Analgesia found that acupuncture points alleviated preoperative anxiety in children while a 2003 study conducted at Yale University showed that ear acupuncture significantly lowered the stress level of the mothers of children that were scheduled for surgery.
A German study published in the June 2007 issue of Circulation found that acupuncture significantly lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The extent of the blood pressure reductions by acupuncture treatments was comparable to those seen with antihypertensive medication or aggressive lifestyle changes, including radical salt restrictions