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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Allergy diagnoses plummeted during COVID — and stayed low. A large study of over 7 million US Military Health System beneficiaries found allergic disease incidence dropped nearly 42% in the first pandemic year and remained suppressed through year 3. Researchers believe the decline reflects a genuine reduction in allergic disease, not just fewer doctor visits.
Allergy diagnoses didn't just dip during the pandemic — they cratered and stayed low. A retrospective study of more than 7 million US Military Health System beneficiaries found that the incidence of allergic diseases fell dramatically in the first year of COVID and remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels through year 3. Researchers say reduced healthcare utilization alone can't explain the sustained trend.
The study tracked 12 categories of allergic conditions from March 2019 through the first three pandemic years. Nearly all conditions declined sharply in year 1 and most stayed suppressed. Only anaphylaxis and food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) rebounded to or above pre-pandemic levels by years 2 and 3. Even young children — a group especially sensitive to microbial exposure changes — saw steep drops, with asthma incidence in 3-year-olds falling from 213 to just 74 per 100,000.
The findings suggest that pandemic-era lifestyle changes — like reduced social mixing and increased hygiene — may have genuinely lowered allergic disease burden, offering new clues about environmental and microbial triggers of allergic conditions.
