Allergic conditions: key points

  • In 2021/22, 112 people per 100,000 were hospitalised for an allergy-related illness at least once during the year, compared to 93 people per 100,000 in 2020/21. In the years leading up to the pandemic, admissions were consistently around 160 people per 100.000. The pandemic caused a large disruption to healthcare services, and had an impact on individuals’ health and their use of healthcare services. Therefore, this data should be interpreted with caution.
  • Asthma continues to be the most common allergic condition, accounting for 76% of the approximately 6,150 allergy-related hospital admissions from 2021/22.
  • Allergic mechanisms contribute to a large number of different diseases and have both acute and chronic effects.
  • Diseases with an allergic basis include allergic rhinitis, asthma, food intolerance and reactions to drugs and to wasp and bee stings.
  • Most allergic conditions are treated in primary care.
  • There is a lack of good quality information on rare but severe conditions such as anaphylaxis.

Section updates:

  • The last major update of this section was completed in September 2022.
  • The next major update is due to be carried out by end September 2023.