UC DAVIS PHYSICIAN AND FOOD SCIENTIST NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR FOOD ALLERGY STUDY

November 9, 2005

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — People with food allergies are needed for a UC Davis study intended to develop an educational program to help physicians and patients better manage their conditions.

Food allergy sufferers throughout Northern California are invited to participate.

The study is recruiting individuals who are 18 years of age or older and experience food allergies characterized by throat swelling, wheezing or low blood pressure (known as anaphylaxis) caused by seeds, peanuts, tree nuts fish, or crustaceans, such as shrimp and crab.

This study, conducted in collaboration with the Food Allergy and Anaphylasis Network, and the Food and Drug Administration, is funded by the Department of Agriculture.

The study requires participants to answer questions - in personal interviews and by mailed questionnaires - about how they manage their food allergies. Food allergy sufferers will be asked about their symptoms and about their allergy-related difficulties. They will also be asked about the information sources they use to better understand their allergies and what allergy-management methods work well for them.

The interviews will take up to 60 minutes and will take place in the volunteers' communities. Volunteers will be compensated for their time.

The goal of the project is to increase the usefulness of educational material for adults with food allergies. Severe food allergies are becoming more common. Peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustaceans and seeds are the foods most frequently reported to cause severe or potentially life-threatening reactions. Peanut allergy affects approximately one out of every 100 children. Seafood allergy appears to affect about two out of every 100 adults.

The investigators of the study are Suzanne Teuber, professor of rheumatology, allergy and clinical immunology at the UC Davis School of Medicine, and Christine Bruhn, director of the UC Davis Center for Consumer Research, Department of Food Science and Technology.

For more information and to see if you qualify for the study, please contact Teuber at (530) 752-4257 or ssteuber@ucdavis.edu.