Pediatric Asthma and Food Allergy

Objective To quantitatively summarize the evidence from observational studies on the relation between pediatric asthma and food allergy. Methods A literature search was conducted in Medline and EMBASE (August 2016). Two independent reviewers appraised the studies and extracted the estimates of interest. Methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Quality Assessment Tools. Data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Results A total of 32 relevant studies were identified but only 8 studies met the inclusion criteria. Using random-effect model, food allergy showed strong association with asthma in children (OR = 2.87 [95% CI: 2.05–4.00]; P