A recent cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of allergies and asthma among U.S. children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilized data from the National Health Interview Survey between 2018 and 2021, including responses from 31,503 participants aged 0 to 17 years.
The study, published in BMC Public Health, reported changes in allergy prevalence among U.S. children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, before the pandemic, the prevalence of any allergy was 26.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 24.8%-27.4%), increasing slightly to 27.1% (95% CI, 25.9%-28.2%) by 2021. Food allergies decreased from 6.5% (95% CI, 5.8%-7.1%) in 2018 to 5.8% (95% CI, 5.2%-6.4%) in 2021. Skin allergies declined from 12.6% (95% CI, 11.6%-13.5%) in 2018 to 10.7% (95% CI, 9.9%-11.5%) in 2021.
The prevalence of respiratory allergies increased by about 5 percentage points, from 14.0% in 2018 to 18.8% in 2021. Asthma prevalence declined from 11.1% in 2018–2019 to 9.8% in 2020–2021. These trends persisted after adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic variables.
Stratified analyses revealed differences in prevalence across demographic groups. For instance, there were significant variations in allergy prevalence among different racial/ethnic groups and family income levels.
The study suggests that pandemic-related lifestyle changes, such as increased indoor time and reduced outdoor activities, may have contributed to the increase in respiratory allergies. The decline in asthma and skin allergies might be related to reduced exposure to environmental allergens and irritants due to public health measures like mask-wearing and social distancing. However, the researchers emphasize that further research is needed to explore these associations more definitively.
The study has limitations, including its reliance on self-reported data and potential recall bias. The authors call for additional research to further explore the relationship between allergic diseases and the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly focusing on the impact of lifestyle changes resulting from infection prevention measures.
Full disclosures can be found in the published study.