Allergies (Deaths)

Treasury written question – answered at on 12 July 2006.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lindsay Hoyle Lindsay Hoyle Labour, Chorley

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people died from (a) nut allergies and (b) other allergies in each of the last five years.

Photo of John Healey John Healey The Financial Secretary to the Treasury

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 12 July 2006:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people died from (a) nut allergies and (b) other allergies in each of the last five years. I am replying in her absence. (84267)

Figures on deaths from nut allergies in particular are not available as there is no single specific code in the ICD for nut allergies. Figures given in the attached table relate to deaths where one or more of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate was classified as allergic according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Conditions classified to ICD codes which cover both allergic and non-allergic conditions were excluded from this analysis. The latest year for which data are available is 2004.

Deaths where the underlying or one of the contributory causes of death was classified as an allergic reaction,( 1 ) England and Wales, 2000 to 2004( 2)
Calendar year Number of deaths
2000(3) 50
2001 46
2002 43
2003 52
2004 79
(1) Causes of death were classified as allergic reactions for the year 2000 using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 477.0—Allergic rhinitis due to pollen 477.8—Allergic rhinitis due to other allergen 477.9—Allergic rhinitis, cause unspecified 493.0—Extrinsic asthma 693—Dermatitis due to substances taken internally 995.0—Anaphylactic shock 995.3—Allergy, unspecified 999.4—Anaphylactic shock due to serum and for the years 2001 to 2004 using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes J30.1—Allergic rhinitis due to pollen J30.2—Other seasonal allergic rhinitis J30.3—Other allergic rhinitis J30.4—Allergic rhinitis, unspecified J45.0—Predominately allergic asthma L27—Dermatitis due to substances taken internally T78.0—Anaphylactic shock due to adverse food reaction T78.1—Other adverse food reactions, not elsewhere specified T78.2—Anaphylactic shock, unspecified T78.4—Allergy unspecified T80.5—Anaphylactic shock due to serum T88.6—Anaphylactic shock due to adverse effect of correct drug or medicament properly administered. (2) Figures are based on deaths occurring each calendar year. (3) The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 means that data for allergic reactions may not be completely comparable with data for years before this date. The data should therefore be interpreted with caution.

Does this answer the above question?

Yes2 people think so

No0 people think not

Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.