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Risk factors
If you have a parent or sibling who has an allergy, you are at higher risk of developing an allergy yourself. If the genes necessary for the development of allergies are inherited, the immune system becomes sensitized to a food or other allergen through initial exposures. Once allergic sensitization of the immune system has occurred, subsequent exposures to the allergen result in an allergic reaction.
Food Allergies are estimated to occur in 6 to 8 percent of infants and young children. A number of these children outgrow their Food Allergies over the first three to five years of life. Compared with other conditions such as allergic nasal symptoms, the prevalence of food allergy in adults is relatively low: Approximately 2 to 3 percent of adults are thought to be affected.
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