FoodAllergenSensitization in a Five-Year Allergy Clinic Cohort and Food Allergy Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours in Romanian Adults: Two Observational Studies

Background/Objectives: Food allergy is reported far more often than it is confirmed by testing. Both ends of that gap matter nutritionally: dietary restriction adopted without confirmation, and unpreparedness for severe reactions. We characterized each end in two cohorts from one source population.

Methods

Study 1 retrospectively analyzed 4404 patients assessed in a single allergy service over 2020–2024, with food sensitization being a positive skin prick test and/or specific IgE to at least one food allergen. Study 2 surveyed 500 adults by convenience sampling, using a 27-item questionnaire with a 10-point knowledge score. In Study 1, testing was indication-driven, and the food-tested subset could not be identified, so all Study 1 figures are proportions among patients assessed, not prevalence estimates. Analyses reported effect sizes with confidence intervals throughout, applied Holm–Bonferroni adjustment to the confirmatory comparisons, and used multivariable regression.