Skip to main content

Cashew Identified as Increasingly Relevant Allergen Triggering Anaphylaxis in Children

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on July 9, 2025.

via HealthDay

WEDNESDAY, July 9, 2025 -- Cashew is an increasingly relevant allergen leading to anaphylaxis in children, according to a study published online June 13 in Allergy.

Veronika Höfer, from Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and colleagues extracted cases of tree nut-induced anaphylaxis (TIA) registered from 2007 until April 2024 from the European Anaphylaxis Registry and analyzed them.

Among 5,945 registered food-induced reactions, 1,389 cases of TIA were identified (23 percent). Further analysis included 1,083 cases with confirmed elicitor status (845 children and 238 adults). The researchers found that among children, the most frequent elicitors were cashew, hazelnut, and walnut (334, 211, and 146, respectively). From 2007 to 2024, the proportion of cashew-induced anaphylaxis increased and reactions were often caused by small amounts (less than one teaspoon). Adults often reacted to hazelnut, walnut, and almond (105, 47, and 35, respectively) and to higher amounts. Fifty percent of adults and 17 percent of children had potential cofactors present. Reaction severity was independent of age. Few patients were previously aware of their allergy (23 and 21 percent of children and adults, respectively). In lay treatment, use of adrenaline was low (13 and 3 percent among children and adults, respectively) and reached about 40 percent upon professional treatment.

"Tree nuts resemble the largest elicitor group among all food-induced reactions in the European Anaphylaxis Registry, and cashew-induced anaphylaxis is on the rise among pediatric patients," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Weather Disasters Impacted Counties With More Than 60 Percent of Drug Production Facilities

FRIDAY, Aug. 22, 2025 -- More than 60 percent of drug production facilities were located in U.S. counties with at least one disaster declaration from 2019 to 2024, according to a...

Sensitive Personalities Tied to More Mental Health Conditions

FRIDAY, Aug. 22, 2025 -- People with sensitive personalities are more prone to common mental health problems such as agoraphobia and avoidant personality disorder, according to a...

Novel Biomarker Risk Prediction Models Examined in Chronic Kidney Disease

FRIDAY, Aug. 22, 2025 -- For adults with nondialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD), risk prediction models incorporating novel biomarkers show comparable discrimination to...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.