Correlação entre o autodiagnóstico de alergia alimentar e a presença de IGE específica

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between self-diagnosis of food al-lergy and the presence of specific IgE for said food; METHODS: A semi-struc-tured questionnaire was administered to 100 volunteers, followed by a Prick Test for ten pre-established foods. The study was conducted in individuals between the ages of 18 and 75, of both sexes, where all signed the Term of Free and Informed Consent prior to the beginning of the research. Statistical analysis of the data was done through the Biostat 5.0 program. RESULTS: Of the 100 inter-viewees, 63% reported having some type of allergy. Among the population of self-referenced allergic individuals, 55.5% answered that their allergies were of food etiology. Of the 35 pre-test food allergy self-diagnoses, only ten tested pos-itive for Prick Test. Four new diagnoses of food allergy were performed in the study population. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the wrong self-diagnoses are a reality in the world population. The diversity of food-related pathologies, the number of concomitant adverse reactions in various diseases and the mediatic appeal of fad diets can influence many of these cases. It is fundamental the role of the physician in establishing the diagnostic resolution to the patient to avoid unnecessary restrictive diets and the propagation of overdiagnosis.