A decade after a landmark study demonstrated that introducing peanut products to young babies could prevent the development of life-threatening allergies, new research reveals a significant impact in the real world.
About 60,000 children have avoided developing peanut allergies since guidelines issued in 2015 recommended introducing the allergen as early as 4 months old.
Dr. David Hill, an allergist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, stated, I can actually come to you today and say there are less kids with food allergy today than there would have been if we hadn’t implemented this public health effort. His new study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, analyzed pediatric health records to track food allergy diagnoses before and after the guideline changes.
The data showed a more than 27% decline in peanut allergies among children aged 0 to 3 after the initial guidance and over 40% after expanded recommendations in 2017.
Despite this positive outcome, the overall prevalence of food allergies in the U.S. has increased in recent years, affecting approximately 8% of children, including more than 2% with peanut allergies.
Previously, doctors advised delaying the introduction of high-allergy risk foods until age 3. However, the 2015 LEAP trial demonstrated that introducing peanuts early could significantly reduce future allergy risks. Despite these findings, implementation of the new guidelines has been slow, with only about 29% of pediatricians and 65% of allergists in compliance with the expanded recommendations.
Advocates for the more than 33 million Americans with food allergies welcome signs that the early introduction of peanut products is becoming more accepted. The current dietary guidelines call for introducing peanuts and other allergens to infants between four and six months without prior testing.
Nutritionists recommend that parents introduce small amounts of peanut products, such as peanut butter or yogurt, to allow children’s immune systems to gain exposure in a safe manner.
