In a new study of two-year-olds in Boston, black kids were twice as likely as white children to have an immune response to foods such as peanuts, milk, and eggs, and almost four times as likely to have a sensitization to three or more foods

Researchers looked at the DNA of the children and found that the more African ancestry it showed, the more likely a child was to have any type of food sensitization, especially to peanuts. Other recent studies have hinted at higher rates of food sensitizations or allergies in blacks. Hispanic children also tended to have more food sensitizations than white kids. There were some differences between children whose mothers reported their race as black and those who had more genetic markers suggesting African descent. For example, African ancestry was linked to a greater chance of having a high immune response to peanuts, whereas black race was not. That tells researchers that genetics may play a role in how likely children are to have food sensitizations or allergies. Or, something about different ancestral environments may be playing a role - for example, people from Africa are known to have lower vitamin D levels early in life. Vitamin D has been linked to some aspects of immune function. More research is needed to better determine what's behind these differences in risk, both by race and ancestry.