| Prevalence of self-reported food allergies in Tunisia: General trends and probabilistic modeling |
| Paper ID : 1304-IGA |
| Authors |
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Rania Abdelhedi *1, belmabrouk sabrine2, hela gargouri3, fadia bougacha4, feriel bouzid3, imen Ayadi5, Nouha abdelmoula bouayed6, Balkiss Abdelmoula6, Nawel Abdellaoui7, Riadh ben marzoug3, nesrine triki8, mouna torjmen9, mohamed kharrat10, mohamed jmaiel9, Dorsaf Rekik moalla11, Najla Kharrat12, ahmed rebai3 1Center of Biotechnologie of Sfax 2Centre de Biotechnologie de Sfax Laboratoire de Procédés de Criblage moléculaire et cellulaire, PoBox '1177', 3018 Sfax, Tunisia 3Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia. 4National Institute of Statistics, 70, Ech-cham Road, P.O Box 265 CEDEX. Tunis, Tunisia. 5Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia. Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, La Soukra Road km 4 - BP 1171-3000, Sfax, Tunisia 6Genomics of Signalopathies at The Service of Medicine, Medical University of Sfax, Majida Boulila Road, Tunisia. 7Genomics of Signalopathies at The Service of Medicine, Medical University of Sfax, Majida Boulila Road, Tunisia 8Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Screening Processes Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour road km 7 P.O Box 1177, 3018 Sfax, Tunisia 9ReDCAD, National Engineering School of Sfax, La Soukra Road km4, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia 10Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, La Soukra Road km 4 - BP 1171-3000, Sfax, Tunisia 11Laboratory of pharmacology, Medical University of Sfax, Majida Boulila Road, Tunisia. 12Laboratory of Screening Cellular and Molecular Process, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sidi Mansour Road km 7, P.O Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia |
| Abstract |
| Background and Aim: Food allergy (FA) is a growing public health concern affecting millions worldwide. In Tunisia, data on the prevalence and characteristics of FA are limited, underscoring the need for targeted research. Materials and Methods: This study sought to fill this gap by estimating the prevalence of self-reported food allergies in the Sfax region of Tunisia. A bilingual questionnaire was administered to 125 children (56% males, aged 1–17 years) and 306 adults (17% males, aged 18–70 years). Results: We identified 105 self-reported food allergens classified into eight groups: fruits, seafood, eggs, milk and dairy, cereals, nuts, vegetables, and peanuts. Cutaneous symptoms were the most common in both children and adults. Family history of FA was reported by 40% of children and 30% of adults. Additionally, 81% of adults and 38% of children were allergic to at least one non-food allergen. Fruits were the most prevalent food allergen in both age groups, followed by seafood. Most allergies were mutually exclusive, with 90% of participants reporting only one food allergy. To explore the relationships among reported allergies, a Bayesian network model estimated the conditional probabilities of co-occurrence. Conclusion: The prevalence of self-reported food allergies in Tunisia appears linked to dietary habits and food availability, as the most frequent allergens are foods commonly consumed by the population. |
| Keywords |
| Keywords: Food allergy, Prevalence, Probabilistic modeling, Self-reported survey, Tunisia |
| Status: Accepted |
