MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ruchi Gupta MD MPH Mary Ann & J Milburn Smith Senior Scientist in Child Health Research Director, Science & Outcomes of Allergy & Asthma Research Professor of Pediatrics & Medicine Clinical Attending Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Institute for Public Health and Medicine Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine   Christopher M. Warren,  PhD University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Readers may be familiar with the so-called "top 8" food allergens (i.e. peanut, tree nut, cow's milk, fin fish, shellfish, egg, wheat and soy), which are responsible for the majority of food allergies in the US.  However, in recent years increasing attention has been paid to sesame allergy, which evidence suggests can lead to anaphylaxis, frequently results in accidental exposure among affected patients, and is infrequently outgrown.  Until now, only one 2010 study has systematically assessed the prevalence of sesame among both US children and adults.  It concluded that sesame allergies were reported by approximately .1% of the US population. However, this study, which surveyed a sample of approximately 5000 US households only captured 13 individuals with reported sesame allergy, which limited the authors' ability to draw more detailed conclusions about the specific characteristics of sesame allergy in the United States.    (more…)