There is a commonly held belief that certain parts of the United States have higher prevalence for allergies than other parts of the country. Not true, according to the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
“Before this study, if you would have asked 10 allergy specialists if allergy prevalence varied depending on where people live, all 10 of them would have said yes, because allergen exposures tend to be more common in certain regions of the U.S.,” Dr. Darryl Zeldin, M.D., the scientific director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and one of the lead researchers on the study, said in a statement. “This study suggests that people prone to developing allergies are going to develop an allergy to whatever is in their environment. It’s what people become allergic to that differs.”
For the study, the researchers examined the data collected from over 10,000 Americans who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2005 and 2006, which examined number of allergens as well as extent of sensitization to allergens.
With this data, the researchers found that overall allergy prevalence didn’t differ between regions. However, they did find that the prevalence of specific kinds of allergens differed. For instance, residents of Southern states had more sensitization to indoor allergens, as well as more food allergies in people ages 6 and older, while outdoor allergy sensitization was more prevalent in the Western states.
Evan Hopkins is a 24 year old writer operating out of Atlanta, GA. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys reading books, drinking coffee, and folk music.