世論 What Japan Thinks

iShare recently took a look at allergies

Demographics

Between the 14th and 17th of October 2011 3,272 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 72.8% of the sample were male, 1.3% in their teens, 8.9% in their twenties, 24.3% in their thirties, 33.2% in their forties, 25.7% in their fifties, and 6.5% in their sixties.

My only food allergy is red wine, which makes me come out in a flush and does my head in after just a sip or two. I’m not really sure if it’s an allergy or just a sensitivity to tannin or whatever, but an allergy is most trendy to have. I also have the usual hayfever, and also to a certain type of penicillin that they probably don’t make any more. I also have a sensitivity to flea bites, I think, as when I stayed on my own in Japan my arms would swell up to twice their size on a regular basis.

Research results

Q1: Do you have any allergies? (Sample size=3,272)

	All	Male N=2,382	Female N=890
Yes (to SQs)	36.1%	31.7%	47.6%
No	63.9%	68.3%	52.4%

Q1SQ1: Do you have any food allergies? (Sample size=1,180)

	All	Male N=756	Female N=424
Yes (to SQ2)	19.8%	14.9%	28.5%
No (to SQ4)	80.2%	85.1%	71.5%

Q1SQ2: What kind of food causes the most adverse allergic reaction? (Sample size=234, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=113	Female N=121
Fish, shellfish	35.9%	37.2%	34.7%
Fruit	16.2%	14.2%	18.2%
Grains	9.4%	12.4%	6.6%
Alcohol	6.8%	7.1%	6.6%
Beans, nuts	4.7%	5.3%	4.1%
Dairy products	2.6%	1.8%	3.3%
Cocoa	2.1%	1.8%	2.5%
Other	16.2%	13.3%	19.0%

Q1SQ3: What kinds of symptoms does your food allergy cause? (Sample size=234, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=113	Female N=121
Hives	42.7%	42.5%	43.0%
Rashes	29.1%	35.4%	23.1%
Diarrhea	20.1%	19.5%	20.7%
Swollen limbs	17.9%	13.3%	22.3%
Vomiting	16.2%	15.0%	17.4%
Stomach ache	14.1%	10.6%	17.4%
Breathing difficulties	13.7%	10.6%	16.5%
Headache	11.5%	11.5%	11.6%
Mouth ulcers	10.7%	13.3%	8.3%
Blocked nose	10.7%	11.5%	9.9%
Asthma	9.0%	8.0%	9.9%
Fever	9.0%	10.6%	7.4%
Runny nose	7.7%	7.1%	8.3%
Loss of consciousness	4.7%	5.3%	4.1%
Nosebleeds	0.9%	0.9%	0.8%
Other	13.7%	10.6%	16.5%

Q1SQ4: Do you have allergies to anything other than food? (Sample size=1,180)

	All	Male N=756	Female N=424
Yes (to SQ5)	96.0%	96.4%	95.3%
No (to SQ7)	4.0%	3.6%	4.7%

Q1SQ5: What kind of item other than food causes the most adverse allergic reaction? (Sample size=1,133, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=729	Female N=404
Pollen	62.0%	69.7%	48.3%
House dust	13.6%	11.9%	16.6%
Metals	4.6%	2.6%	8.2%
Fleas	3.7%	4.0%	3.2%
Animals	2.2%	1.9%	2.7%
Ultraviolet light (sunlight)	2.0%	0.8%	4.2%
Over-the-counter medicines	1.9%	1.5%	2.7%
Mould	1.4%	1.1%	2.0%
Sick House Syndrome (formaldehyde, other chemicals)	1.4%	1.1%	2.0%
Synthetic detergent	1.1%	0.7%	1.7%
Cosmetics	1.0%	0.3%	2.2%
Latex	0.7%	0.7%	0.7%
Over-the-counter creams	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
Soap	0.1%	0.0%	0.2%
Electromagnetic waves	0.1%	0.0%	0.2%
Other	3.9%	3.4%	4.7%

Q1SQ6: What kinds of symptoms does your non-food allergy cause? (Sample size=1,133, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=113	Female N=121
Runny nose	74.7%	79.1%	66.6%
Blocked nose	53.0%	56.1%	47.5%
Rashes	17.3%	12.6%	25.7%
Headache	15.9%	14.0%	19.3%
Hives	9.2%	7.3%	12.6%
Swollen limbs	11.6%	7.5%	18.8%
Fever	8.0%	6.2%	11.4%
Asthma	7.2%	7.1%	7.4%
Nosebleeds	3.6%	3.2%	4.5%
Breathing difficulties	2.6%	1.2%	5.0%
Mouth ulcers	1.9%	1.9%	2.0%
Diarrhea	1.4%	1.4%	1.5%
Vomiting	1.2%	0.8%	2.0%
Stomach ache	1.1%	0.7%	2.0%
Loss of consciousness	0.5%	0.3%	1.0%
Other	16.0%	13.2%	21.0%

Q1SQ7: How old were you when you first had an allergic reactions? (Sample size=1,180)

	All	Male N=756	Female N=424
Under one year old	1.7%	1.5%	2.1%
One to five years old	6.8%	5.3%	9.4%
Six to nine years old	10.3%	11.1%	9.0%
In teens	28.4%	26.5%	31.8%
In twenties	25.5%	24.7%	26.9%
In thirties	18.1%	19.3%	15.8%
In forties	6.7%	8.6%	3.3%
In fifties	2.2%	2.6%	1.4%
In sixties	0.3%	0.4%	0.2%

Q1SQ8: Do you take any measures to avoid the item you have the most adverse reaction to? Eg, checking ingredient lists, confirming the metal used in jewelry, etc. (Sample size=1,180)

	All	Male N=756	Female N=424
Yes	74.4%	70.8%	80.9%
No	25.6%	29.2%	19.1%