Following detailed examination of data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, this research has found a link between latitude and the prevalence of food allergy and eczema.

Recent reports from both Australia and the US suggest that vitamin D might play a role in the recent rise in allergic disease, in particular food allergy.

We examined this using the nationally-representative epidemiological study – the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) – containing information about two cohorts of children on State of domicile, parental report of food allergy, eczema and asthma, and potential confounders.

We found that a latitude gradient existed for both food allergy (peanut and egg allergy) and eczema, but not for asthma, in the two age groups assessed. In the 4-5 year old cohort, the southernmost children, i.e. those residing furthest from the Equator, were more likely to have each of food allergy and eczema. In the 8-9 year old cohort, the odds of having a peanut allergy were 6 times greater and the odds of having eczema were twice as great in southernmost children as those residing in the North.

This provides stimulus for research into possible causal roles of ambient UVR and vitamin D levels in this disease group.

This study is published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology