Allergic diseases encompass a group of disorders common in childhood, including eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). Though disparate in presentation, these disorders share a common biologic origin,1 and over the past quarter century this group of disorders has grown from relative obscurity to near ubiquity, with a lifetime prevalence approaching 20% in school-age children in the United States.2
The natural question is why these rates have increased so rapidly and steadily. In this issue of Pediatrics, Hesselmar and colleagues present their findings from an observational, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study of families with 7- to 8-year-old children living in 2 geographically distinct areas of Sweden: Kiruna, ∼60 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and Mölndal, >750 miles to the south. The authors use principal component analysis and logistic regression models to explore correlations between allergy history and dietary habits of the families of 1029 children. In addition to demographics...
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