Sharp drop in Childhood Food Allergies Linked to Early Peanut Introduction
A meaningful decline in food allergies among young children is being attributed to a shift in medical advice encouraging the early introduction of allergenic foods, especially peanuts.New research confirms that proactively exposing infants to potential allergens can dramatically reduce their risk of developing allergies.
Fewer Children Developing Food Allergies
Researchers analyzed health records from nearly 50 pediatric practices,encompassing data from over 125,000 children. Their findings indicated an overall 36 percent reduction in food allergies in children under three between 2017 and 2020, compared to the period between 2012 and 2015. This decline was largely driven by a 43 percent decrease in peanut allergies, according to Dr. David Hill, lead author of the study and a pediatric allergist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“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,” Dr. Hill stated in comments to The New York Times. The research suggests approximately 57,000 fewer children in the United States are currently living with food allergies as a direct result of these early-introduction guidelines. Interestingly, the study also noted that egg allergies have now surpassed peanut allergies as the most common food allergy among young children.
Decades of Caution Reversed
For many years, medical professionals advised parents to delay introducing possibly allergenic foods, like peanuts, to infants until they reached three years of age. This cautious approach began to change in 2015 following the landmark British LEAP (Learning early About Peanut Allergy) study. The LEAP study demonstrated that introducing peanut products to babies reduced the risk of developing a peanut allergy by more than 80 percent.
Following this pivotal discovery, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued new guidance in 2017 recommending early peanut introduction.This guidance was later expanded to include other common allergens such as eggs and soy.
“The latest national guidelines recommend introducing common food allergens to all infants four to six months of age,” explained Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, a pediatrician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.”Early introduction to the nine commonly allergenic foods a couple of times a week-like a pea-sized smear of peanut butter or a small bite of scrambled eggs-can definitely help train an infant’s immune system.”
How it Helps the Immune System
Dr. Hill clarified that the body’s reaction to allergens is heavily influenced by how they are introduced. He explained that exposure through damaged skin can trigger an immune response that mistakenly identifies the allergen as a threat. However, exposure through the digestive system helps the body build tolerance.
“For the past decade,studies have shown that introducing allergenic foods in infancy,as the immune system is developing,can help the body recognize food proteins as harmless,” he said.
Other factors, such as increasing rates of Cesarean section deliveries, early antibiotic use, and overly sanitized environments, may have contributed to the rise in allergy rates in previous decades, according to Jeanna Ryan, a physician assistant at University of Utah Health.
Need for Greater Awareness
Despite the promising results, experts emphasize that the new approach has not been universally adopted by parents or healthcare providers. Surveys indicate that only 29 percent of pediatricians and 65 percent of allergists consistently adhere to the 2017 guidelines. Another study revealed that just 17 percent of caregivers introduced peanuts to their infants before seven months of age.
Parents are also gradually adjusting to the updated recommendations. Tiffany Leon, a Maryland-based dietician, shared that she introduced peanuts early to her two sons after learning about the revised guidelines. “At first, my own mother was shocked at the advice to feed babies such foods before the age of 3,” she said. “But as a dietician,I practice evidence-based recommendations.”
