Burden of allergic disease

Allergy is a widespread disease, which is becoming increasingly common worldwide and has a tendency to aggravate with time. Currently, more than 20% of the population suffer from respiratory allergies.
Signs and symptoms
Many allergens such as dust or pollen are airborne particles. In these cases, symptoms arise in areas in contact with air, such as eyes, nose, and lung.
Cause of allergy
Risk factors for allergy can be placed in two general categories, namely host and environmental factors. Host factors include heredity, sex, race, and age, with heredity being by far the most significant. Four major environmental candidates are alterations in exposure to infectious diseases during early childhood, environmental pollution, allergen levels, and dietary changes.
Allergy prevention
The consumption of various foods during pregnancy has been linked to eczema; these include celery, citrus fruit, raw pepper, margarine, and vegetable oil. A high intake of antioxidants, zinc, and selenium during pregnancy may help prevent allergies. This is linked to a reduced risk for childhood-onset asthma, wheezing, and eczema.

For most allergy sufferers, their allergy leads to a significantly reduced quality of life, affecting both work and leisure time. Allergic patients can relieve symptoms by self-imposing restrictions on activities to avoid allergen exposure. Self-imposed restrictions may have psychological and social consequences. Allergic disease has significant socio-economic impact on the patient, the patient’s family and the society as a whole. According to a European survey of diagnosed allergy sufferers, around 80% of the respondents find that their disease considerably affects their daily activities. The growing prevalence of allergy also has major economic consequences for society through reduced working capacity and more sick leave, placing a greater burden on healthcare resources and increasing medication costs.

Name Dreng og huststøvmider - høj opløsning
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognizes allergy immunotherapy (vaccination) as the only approach that targets the cause of allergy and alters the natural course of the disease.
Last updated: 2016.05.13