By Beth Gilbert HealthDay Reporter
The annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology was held from Oct. 24 to 28 in Boston, drawing attendees from around the world, including allergy and immunology specialists as well as other health care professionals. The conference featured presentations focusing on the latest advances in the prevention and treatment of asthma, food and medication allergies, and immune dysfunction.
In one study, Albert Wu, M.D., from New York City, and colleagues found that minorities are less likely to demonstrate vaccine hesitancy, even when taking into account age, gender, and language.
The authors collected vaccination history and demographic information from 338 new patients presenting to an outpatient allergy/immunology clinic between March 2023 and February 2024. White (37.2 percent), Hispanic (31.6 percent), Asian (18.9 percent), and Black (12.1 percent) ethnicities were included, with 80 percent speaking English as their primary language. The researchers found that minorities were less likely to demonstrate vaccine hesitancy. Age, gender, and language did not significantly affect likelihood for vaccine hesitancy. Mistrust of authority was among the most cited reasons by patients for vaccination hesitancy, including decreased confidence in the health care system and the government, as well as reservations regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccinations.
“Identifying target populations is a vital initial step in improving long-term vaccine acceptance. Our study found multiple patient characteristics differentially associated with increased vaccination hesitancy, including immunization history, age, and ethnicity,” Wu said. “These characteristics could be used to identify patients more at risk for being vaccine-hesitant going forward to make vaccination campaigns more efficient. We can also improve upon current efforts to increase immunization rates by studying successful initiatives from the COVID pandemic.”
In another study, David Stukus, M.D., of Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, and colleagues report an 11-fold increase in the number of children referred to a psychologist for food allergy-related anxiety and decreased quality of life during a 10-year period.
In a retrospective chart review of outpatient pediatric psychology referrals between 2013 and 2023, the authors evaluated 250 patients, 88 percent of whom were were referred for food allergy-related concerns and 53 percent of whom had prior documented anaphylaxis. The researchers identified an 11-fold increase in the number of children referred for food allergy-related anxiety and decreased quality of life during a 10-year period. Many of these children were quite young, with a median age of 9 years.
“It is important to address anxiety with all children and caregivers who have food allergies and have services available when this impacts quality of life,” Stukus said. “Comprehensive food allergy management should include assessment of anxiety and quality of life.”
In a cross-sectional study, Nadia Makkoukdji, M.D., of the Jackson Health System in Miami, and colleagues found that food elimination diets are still commonly being used by parents of children with atopic dermatitis, with restrictive diets leading to malnutrition, emotional stress, and anxiety or depression, while also adding stress to parents.
The authors used a survey to assess parents’ perceptions of the relationship between dietary choices and their child’s atopic dermatitis. Participants in this study implemented elimination diets for varying durations, from one month to more than a year. Of those who followed elimination diets, 79 percent eventually reintroduced the suspected allergen, with no significant change in eczema severity. This finding was both statistically and clinically significant, with a P value < 0.001 as determined by a chi-square test.
In addition, the investigators found that 57 percent of parents altered their child’s diet due to a belief that certain foods worsened their atopic dermatitis. Milk, tree nuts, seeds, peanuts, and eggs were the most commonly suspected triggers, aligning with well-known allergens globally. Again, dietary modifications did not lead to significant improvement in atopic dermatitis control, reflecting previous studies that showed limited efficacy for food elimination without confirmed food allergies.
“Our statistical analysis underscores the limited effectiveness of dietary restrictions as an eczema management strategy,” Makkoukdji said. “These parental perceptions influence treatment decisions and highlight the need to follow guidelines from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology to optimize atopic dermatitis management.”
ACAAI: ICS + Formoterol and ICS + SABA Better Than SABA Alone for Asthma
TUESDAY, Oct. 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For patients with asthma, inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) combined with short-acting β agonists (SABA) and ICS combined with the long-acting β agonist formoterol are each associated with reduced asthma exacerbations compared with SABA alone, according to a study published online Oct. 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was published to coincide with the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Oct. 24 to 28 in Boston.
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MONDAY, Oct. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The number of pediatric psychology referrals for issues related to food allergy increased dramatically during the past decade, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Oct. 24 to 28 in Boston.
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FRIDAY, Oct. 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Many anaphylaxis protocols are incomplete and/or outdated, and there is a need for patient education regarding treatment of anaphylaxis, according to two studies presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Oct. 24 to 28 in Boston.
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ACAAI: Gene-Editing Therapy Reduces Angioedema Attacks in Hereditary Angioedema
THURSDAY, Oct. 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For adults with hereditary angioedema, the in vivo gene-editing therapy NTLA-2002, which is based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9, administered as a single dose reduces angioedema attacks, according to a study published online Oct. 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Oct. 24 to 28 in Boston.
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