A decade later, a landmark study proved that feeding peanut products to young children is possible Prevent development From life-threatening allergies, new research finds that the change has made a big difference in the real world.
About 60,000 babies avoided developing a peanut allergy after guidelines first issued in 2015 turned medical practice on its head by recommending that allergens be introduced to infants starting at 4 months of age.
“This is great, isn’t it?” Dr. David Hale, an allergist and researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and author of the study, said Published on Monday In the medical journal Pediatrics. Hill and his colleagues analyzed electronic health records from dozens of pediatric clinics to track food allergy diagnoses in young children before, during, and after the guidelines were issued.
“I can come to you today and say that fewer children have food allergies today than they would have had we not implemented these public health efforts,” he added.
The researchers found that peanut allergies in children ages 0 to 3 years decreased by more than 27% after the guidance for children at risk was first issued in 2015 and by more than 40% after the recommendations were expanded in 2017.
These efforts have so far been unsuccessful in reducing the overall increase in food allergies in the United States in recent years. About 8% of children are affected, including more than 2% with a peanut allergy.
A peanut allergy occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly recognizes proteins in peanuts as harmful and releases chemicals that cause allergy symptoms, including hives, respiratory symptoms, and sometimes life-threatening anaphylaxis.
For decades, doctors have recommended delaying feeding children peanuts and other foods likely to cause allergies until age three. But in 2015, Gideon Luck of King’s College London published the groundbreaking study Early learning about peanut allergy, Or LEAP, trial.
Lack and colleagues showed that introducing peanut products in childhood reduces the risk of future food allergies by more than 80%. Subsequent analysis showed that protection continued for about 70% of children into adolescence.
The study immediately sparked new guidelines urging early introduction of peanuts — but putting them into effect has been slow.
Surveys found that only about 29% of pediatricians and 65% of allergists reported following the expanded guidelines issued in 2017.
Confusion and uncertainty about how best to introduce peanuts early in life led to this delay, according to a commentary that accompanied the study. Early on, medical experts and parents alike wondered whether the practice could be adopted outside of tightly controlled clinical settings.
Data for the analysis came from a subset of participating practice sites and may not be representative of the entire U.S. pediatric population, noted commentary led by Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatric allergy expert at Northwestern University.
However, the new research provides “promising evidence that early introduction of allergens is not only approved, but may have a measurable effect,” the researchers concluded.
Advocates for the 33 million people in the United States with food allergies welcomed signs that early introduction of peanut products is beginning to spread.
“This research reinforces what we already know and highlights a meaningful opportunity to reduce the incidence and prevalence of peanut allergy across the country,” said Sung Poblet, CEO of the nonprofit Food Allergy Research Group. & Education, or wages.
Hill said the new study confirms current guidance, updated in 2021, which calls for introducing peanuts and other major food allergens between four and six months, without prior screening or testing. Parents should consult their pediatrician with any questions.
“It doesn’t have to be a lot of food, but a little bit of peanut butter, milk-based yogurt, soy-based yogurt, and tree butter,” he said. “These are really good ways to allow the immune system to be exposed to these allergenic foods in a safe way.”
Tiffany Lyons, 36, a Maryland-based registered dietitian and director at FARE, introduced peanuts and other allergens early to her sons, James, 4, and Cameron, 2.
At first, Leon’s mother was shocked by the advice to feed children such foods before the age of three, she said. But Leon explained how science has changed.
“As a dietitian, I practice evidence-based recommendations,” she said. “So when someone said to me: ‘This is the way it is done now, these are the new guidelines,’ I said to myself: ‘Okay, okay, this is what we’re going to do.’”
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