超過150萬美國人對這種“隱藏”成分過敏

超過150萬美國人對這種“隱藏”成分過敏

More Americans than previously known are allergic to sesame — and a lack of product labeling increases the risk of ingestion, according to a new study out of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

美國西北大學(xué)范伯格醫(yī)學(xué)院的一項(xiàng)新研究表明，對芝麻過敏的美國人比以往更多，而且缺乏產(chǎn)品標(biāo)簽會增加攝入芝麻的風(fēng)險。

Over 1.5 million US residents, or 0.49 % of the population, have a sesame allergy, the report published in the journal JAMA Network finds. Of those, more than 1.1 million have been formally diagnosed.

這份發(fā)表在《美國醫(yī)學(xué)會雜志網(wǎng)絡(luò)》(JAMA Network)上的報告發(fā)現(xiàn)，超過150萬美國居民(占總?cè)丝诘?.49%)對芝麻過敏。其中，超過110萬人已被正式診斷。

“Our study shows sesame allergy is prevalent in the US in both adults and children and can cause severe allergic reactions,” says senior author Dr. Ruchi Gupta, professor of pediatrics and medicine at Northwestern.

“我們的研究表明芝麻過敏在美國成年人和兒童中都很普遍，會導(dǎo)致嚴(yán)重的過敏反應(yīng)，”西北大學(xué)兒科學(xué)和醫(yī)學(xué)教授、資深作者魯奇·古普塔博士說。

Through a telephone survey of more than 50,000 US households, researchers reached approximately 80,000 individuals.

通過對5萬多戶美國家庭的電話調(diào)查，研究人員接觸了大約8萬人。

A major cause for concern: One-half of children and one-third of adults with sesame allergy reported that they were self-diagnosed, the study finds. But among individuals with “convincing sesame allergy,” 62.2% reported a current epinephrine prescription — a rate comparable to children and adults with peanut allergy.

令人擔(dān)憂的一個主要原因是:研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，有一半的兒童和三分之一的成年人對芝麻過敏，他們自稱是自我診斷的。但在“令人信服的芝麻過敏”人群中，62.2%的人報告說，他們目前使用的是腎上腺素處方，這一比例與對花生過敏的兒童和成人相當(dāng)。

“Clinical confirmation of suspected food allergies is essential to reduce the risk of unnecessary allergen avoidance as well as ensure patients receive essential counseling and prescription of emergency epinephrine,” says lead study author Christopher Warren, an investigator with Northwestern’s Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research.

西北大學(xué)食品過敏與哮喘研究中心的研究員、該研究的主要作者克里斯托弗·沃倫說:“對疑似食物過敏進(jìn)行臨床確認(rèn)對于減少不必要的過敏原避免的風(fēng)險，以及確?；颊呓邮鼙匾淖稍兒途o急腎上腺素處方至關(guān)重要。”

Emergency room visits were common among study subjects, possibly because sesame doesn’t have to be included in ingredient lists like other top allergens, such as peanuts and diary.

急診室就診在研究對象中很常見，這可能是因?yàn)橹ヂ椴恍枰窕ㄉ腿沼浀绕渌敿夁^敏原那樣列入成分清單。

“Sesame is in a lot of foods as hidden ingredients,” Gupta says. “It is very hard to avoid.”

古普塔說:“芝麻作為隱藏成分存在于許多食物中。這是很難避免的。”

Many consumers don’t realize that seeing “tahini,” on a food label, for example, implies that sesame is an ingredient. So, until it’s legally required people must police their own eating.

例如，許多消費(fèi)者沒有意識到，在食品標(biāo)簽上看到“芝麻醬”意味著芝麻是一種配料。所以，在法律規(guī)定之前，人們必須對自己的飲食進(jìn)行管理。

“Patients with suspected sesame allergy need to be vigilant, as symptoms — including severe symptoms — do occur,” University of Manitoba epidemiologist Jennifer Protudjer, who was invited to review the study findings for JAMA, tells The Post. “Many sesame allergic patients do not carry an epinephrine auto-injector, which is the only known life-saving medication in the event of a severe allergic reaction.”

曼尼托巴大學(xué)的流行病學(xué)家Jennifer Protudjer在接受《美國醫(yī)學(xué)會雜志》采訪時表示:“疑似芝麻過敏的患者需要保持警惕，因?yàn)榘Y狀——包括嚴(yán)重的癥狀——確實(shí)會出現(xiàn)。”“許多芝麻過敏患者都沒有攜帶腎上腺素自動注射器，這是已知的唯一一種在出現(xiàn)嚴(yán)重過敏反應(yīng)時可以救命的藥物。”