Patterns of Adult Food Allergy (PAFA-Stage 1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Patterns and prevalence of adult food allergy in a UK population (PAFA-Stage 1).
IRAS ID
260430
Contact name
Angela Simpson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
ISRCTN72819770, ISRCTN trial registration
Duration of Study in the UK
8 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
Many people in the UK suffer from food allergies and intolerances, which cause problems for them when choosing what to eat, buying food, and eating outside the home. Although this is well recognised in children, it affects many adults too. We would like to find out how many adults in the UK have food allergies and intolerances. Stage-1 of this project (the subject of this submission) will comprise of a community survey in Greater Manchester, Isle of Wight, and Southampton to allow adults aged 18-70 to report their experiences of symptoms related to eating food, excluding food poisoning. The study locations are representative of populations within the UK and will allow us to collect food allergy information on a diverse range of ethnic groups and backgrounds. Volunteers will be invited to take part in the questionnaire through their local GP surgeries and can respond online, by post, or telephone. Additionally, a group of participants from a previous FSA sponsored food allergy study (Food Allergy and Intolerance Research (FAIR)) will be invited to complete a modified version of the community survey.
All questionnaire responses will be transferred to a secure online research platform (REDCap). Participants will be identifiable only by their unique identification number (UID) linked to their questionnaire response. Participants will be invited to indicate their interest in receiving further information to take part in allergy assessments. The results of the questionnaires will be used to identify cases and controls for confirmation of food allergy (Stage 2, to be a separate protocol and ethics submission). Stage 1 will allow us to measure self-reported adverse reactions to food.
Project partners are the Universities of Manchester, Southampton, and Amsterdam University Medical Centre with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Isle of Wight NHS Trust and University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust.REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NW/0749
Date of REC Opinion
23 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion