Research conducted at Henry Ford Hospital shows that race and possibly genetics play a role in children's sensitivity to developing allergies

Researchers found that African-American children were sensitized to at least one food allergen three times more often than white children. Also, African-American children with one allergic parent were sensitized to an environmental allergen twice as often as African-American children without an allergic parent. The findings suggest that African Americans may have a gene making them more susceptible to food allergen sensitization or the sensitization is just more prevalent in African American children than white children at age 2. Sensitization means a person's immune system produces a specific antibody to an allergen. It does not mean the person will experience allergy symptoms.