超过150万美国人对这种“隐藏”成分过敏

超过150万美国人对这种“隐藏”成分过敏

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.

美国西北大学范伯格医学院的一项新研究表明，对芝麻过敏的美国人比以往更多，而且缺乏产品标签会增加摄入芝麻的风险。

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.

这份发表在《美国医学会杂志网络》(JAMA Network)上的报告发现，超过150万美国居民(占总人口的0.49%)对芝麻过敏。其中，超过110万人已被正式诊断。

“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.

“我们的研究表明芝麻过敏在美国成年人和儿童中都很普遍，会导致严重的过敏反应，”西北大学儿科学和医学教授、资深作者鲁奇·古普塔博士说。

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

通过对5万多户美国家庭的电话调查，研究人员接触了大约8万人。

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.

令人担忧的一个主要原因是:研究发现，有一半的儿童和三分之一的成年人对芝麻过敏，他们自称是自我诊断的。但在“令人信服的芝麻过敏”人群中，62.2%的人报告说，他们目前使用的是肾上腺素处方，这一比例与对花生过敏的儿童和成人相当。

“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.

西北大学食品过敏与哮喘研究中心的研究员、该研究的主要作者克里斯托弗·沃伦说:“对疑似食物过敏进行临床确认对于减少不必要的过敏原避免的风险，以及确保患者接受必要的咨询和紧急肾上腺素处方至关重要。”

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.

急诊室就诊在研究对象中很常见，这可能是因为芝麻不需要像花生和日记等其他顶级过敏原那样列入成分清单。

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

古普塔说:“芝麻作为隐藏成分存在于许多食物中。这是很难避免的。”

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，许多消费者没有意识到，在食品标签上看到“芝麻酱”意味着芝麻是一种配料。所以，在法律规定之前，人们必须对自己的饮食进行管理。

“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.”

曼尼托巴大学的流行病学家Jennifer Protudjer在接受《美国医学会杂志》采访时表示:“疑似芝麻过敏的患者需要保持警惕，因为症状——包括严重的症状——确实会出现。”“许多芝麻过敏患者都没有携带肾上腺素自动注射器，这是已知的唯一一种在出现严重过敏反应时可以救命的药物。”