Feb 19, 2007 11:35
17 yrs ago
4 viewers *
English term
To indicate the persistence of food allergies to solid foods...
English
Medical
Medical (general)
allergy
I have serious doubts how to understand the following sentence
"To indicate the persistence of food allergies to solid foods, an estimate of the persistence of allergies can be drawn from the duration of food allergy"
This is a journal article about introduction of solid foods, and I am completely confused how to understand it. In further sentences the authors mention different allergies, milk allergy, egg allergy, quoting dates, when some children "outgrow" different types of food allergies. Could you please "translate" it into more understandable English?
"To indicate the persistence of food allergies to solid foods, an estimate of the persistence of allergies can be drawn from the duration of food allergy"
This is a journal article about introduction of solid foods, and I am completely confused how to understand it. In further sentences the authors mention different allergies, milk allergy, egg allergy, quoting dates, when some children "outgrow" different types of food allergies. Could you please "translate" it into more understandable English?
Responses
+2
4 hrs
Selected
risk of food allergies persisting
Piotr, I pity you because this is really poorly expressed.
In fact they are referring to estimating the RISK of the persistence of allergy for any given food. Many food allergies in children are transient. So from follow-up studies of food allergies, one can obtain data on the average duration of the allergy in the transient cases and the proportion of allergies that persist. Then, by comparing the figures for different foods, one can say the risk of persisting allergy is higher or lower for any given compared to other foods. In your example, the risk of persistence of egg allergy is 3 times higher than the risk of persistence of cow milk allergy.
I hope this is clearer and not more confusing!
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Note added at 4 hrs (2007-02-19 16:15:19 GMT)
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for any given FOOD compared to...
In fact they are referring to estimating the RISK of the persistence of allergy for any given food. Many food allergies in children are transient. So from follow-up studies of food allergies, one can obtain data on the average duration of the allergy in the transient cases and the proportion of allergies that persist. Then, by comparing the figures for different foods, one can say the risk of persisting allergy is higher or lower for any given compared to other foods. In your example, the risk of persistence of egg allergy is 3 times higher than the risk of persistence of cow milk allergy.
I hope this is clearer and not more confusing!
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Note added at 4 hrs (2007-02-19 16:15:19 GMT)
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for any given FOOD compared to...
Note from asker:
Thank you very much, and thank you everybody. This explains a lot, confirming my unspoken suspicions. I wrote a letter to the author of this article with more sentences that require explanation, the answer is pending. If I do not receive the answer, if you do not mind, I will ask for your help. |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you everybody, you make life easier :-). I wrote a letter to the author of this article. If I do not receive the answer, I will ask for your help , if you don't mind. "
+1
6 mins
my understanding...
The persistence of allergies to solid foods can be estimated from their duration.
However, I would have thought this was self-evident! Does the author define "persistence" and duration"? They're obviously intended as two different concepts.
However, I would have thought this was self-evident! Does the author define "persistence" and duration"? They're obviously intended as two different concepts.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Richard Benham
: Yes, I think the "food" before "allergies" is a useless distraction. I don't see that persistence and duration are the same thing, although obviously related.
2 mins
|
yes, I agree - they're not the same but close enough (IMO) to be confusing.
|
-1
7 mins
"In order to understand how an allergy is widespread in the host...
"In order to understand how an allergy is widespread in the host, we can consider the duration of the allergy itself"
That is how I read it
Ale
That is how I read it
Ale
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
Richard Benham
: No. You can't make "how an allergy is widespread in the host" out of "persistence", and besides, since when did it make sense to talk about "the host" of an allergy?
3 mins
|
... thanx
|
+2
2 hrs
to give an idea of the relative persistence of allergies to solid foods
Agree with Marie-Helene: it is sort of stating the obvious - I suppose indicating how general conclusions can be drawn, such as "milk allergies are more persistent than egg allergies" (...because in various studies milk allergies lasted longer).
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-02-19 14:02:21 GMT)
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I should have put "relative" in brackets.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-02-19 14:02:21 GMT)
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I should have put "relative" in brackets.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
40 mins
|
agree |
Dr Sue Levy (X)
: that's certainly the idea
2 hrs
|
Discussion
"For example, 50% of children lose their cow’s milk allergy by 1 year of age. In a limited sample of children with egg allergy (median age, 17 months), tolerance reached 44% of cases at 21⁄2 years of age. Other studies found that 31% to 51% of children allergic to egg overcame the problem. However, it is difficult to compare the results of earlier studies because of widely varying study designs. A more recent study141 found persistence of egg allergy in 50% of the patients at 35 months of follow-up. This means that half the children allergic to egg will tolerate the food when they are 4 to 41⁄2 years old. The proportion of tolerant children was 66% after 5 years. Thus, egg allergy persistence should be considered 3 times greater than cow’s milk allergy persistence"
I guess that persistence is the very fact that the allergy will persist in a given patient, and duration refers to epidemiologic data, but I feel a bit confused.