The reason for the discrepancy isn’t clear, but the authors have a few theories: a) it’s possible that girls and women are simply tested for allergies more often than boys and men; b) allergies in men have been underestimated, which means they’ve been potentially undertreated; or c) the criteria for allergic sensitivity may depend on gender and may change with age.
5. Some U.S. cities are more allergic than others
Allergies are bad everywhere, but some big cities have it worse than others. The Quest data showed that four of the five cities where people were most allergic to ragweed and mold were in the Southwest; as for pet, dust-mite and food allergies, there were no regional differences. The study ranked 30 big cities according to allergy rates. The top 10 most allergic cities were:
1. Dallas
2. Phoenix
3. Baltimore
4. Washington, D.C.
5. Boston
6. Philadelphia
7. Chicago
8. Cincinnati
9. Atlanta
10. Cleveland
Get PDFs of the full city ranking and the entire report. Check out Quest’s Allergies Across America site here.
More on Time.com:
Eldest Children Have Allergies More Often than Their Siblings
Get Out the Kleenex — Climate Change Lengthens Allergy Season