Although food allergies have garnered a lot of attention lately, a new study reports that medications are actually the biggest cause of sudden deaths related to allergy, reports WebMD.
Over a little more than a decade, nearly 60 percent of the allergy-related deaths were caused by medications, while less than 7 percent were caused by food allergies, the study found.
"Medications can be dangerous," said study researcher Dr. Elina Jerschow, director of the Drug Allergy Center at Montefiore Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City.
While research from other countries has reported medications as a major culprit in anaphylaxis-related deaths, Jerschow said, the problem has been less defined in the United States. One reason is that there is no national registry for anaphylaxis deaths, she told WebMd.
The study was published online recently in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
The article reports that in an allergic reaction, the immune system overreacts to an allergen, releasing chemicals that cause symptoms in one area of the body, such as hives or an itchy feeling in the mouth or throat, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI). In a serious reaction, known as anaphylaxis, the reaction affects more of the body and may include symptoms such as difficulty breathing, wheezing or throat swelling, the AAAAI reports.
The drug that caused the reaction wasn't identified in 75 percent of the deaths, said the WebMd article. When the responsible drug was identified, it was an antibiotic in 40 percent of the cases, Jerschow found. The next most common allergy-inducing drugs were radiocontrast agents, which are used during diagnostic imaging tests, followed by chemotherapy medications to treat cancer, the study reported.