A decade following a pivotal study that demonstrated the benefits of introducing peanut products to infants, recent research highlights significant real-world impacts of this dietary change. Approximately 60,000 children have successfully avoided developing peanut allergies due to new guidelines first released in 2015 that recommended introducing peanuts to infants as early as four months of age.
“That”s a remarkable thing, right?” stated Dr. David Hill, an allergist and researcher at Children”s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is also the author of a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Hill and his team examined electronic health records from various pediatric practices to track food allergy diagnoses in young children before and after the issuance of these guidelines.
“I can actually come to you today and say there are fewer kids with food allergies today than there would have been if we hadn”t implemented this public health effort,” he added.
The researchers reported a more than 27% decrease in peanut allergies among children aged 0 to 3 following the 2015 guidance for high-risk infants. This reduction increased to over 40% after the recommendations were broadened in 2017. Despite this progress, the overall rise in food allergies in the United States in recent years remains unchanged, with around 8% of children affected, including over 2% who have peanut allergies.
Peanut allergy occurs when the immune system incorrectly identifies proteins in peanuts as harmful, leading to the release of chemicals that cause allergic reactions, which can include hives, respiratory issues, and potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis.
For many years, medical advice suggested delaying the introduction of peanuts and other allergenic foods until children reached the age of three. However, in 2015, Gideon Lack from King”s College London published the transformative Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) trial. This study demonstrated that early introduction of peanut products significantly lowered the risk of developing allergies by more than 80%. Subsequent analyses indicated that this protective effect persisted in approximately 70% of the children into their teenage years.
Although the study prompted new guidelines advocating for the early introduction of peanuts, implementation has been slow. Surveys indicated that only about 29% of pediatricians and 65% of allergists adhered to the updated guidance released in 2017. The accompanying commentary to the study noted confusion and uncertainty surrounding the best practices for introducing peanuts early in life, which contributed to the delayed adoption.
Data analyzed in the current study came from a subset of practicing sites and may not fully represent the entire pediatric population across the U.S. However, the research presents “promising evidence that early allergen introduction is not only being adopted but may be making a measurable impact,” according to the commentary led by Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a child allergy expert at Northwestern University.
Advocates for the approximately 33 million individuals in the U.S. affected by food allergies welcomed this evidence of progress. “This research reinforces what we already know and underscores a meaningful opportunity to reduce the incidence and prevalence of peanut allergy nationwide,” stated Sung Poblete, the chief executive of the nonprofit organization Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE).
The latest study highlights the current guidelines, which were revised in 2021, recommending the introduction of peanuts and other major food allergens between four to six months of age, without any prior screening or testing. Hill advised parents to consult with their pediatricians regarding any questions they might have. “It doesn”t have to be a lot of the food, but small tastes of peanut butter, milk-based yogurt, soy-based yogurts, and tree nut butters are excellent ways to expose the immune system to these allergenic foods safely,” he noted.
Tiffany Leon, a registered dietitian from Maryland and director at FARE, introduced peanuts and other allergens early to her two sons, James and Cameron. Initially, Leon”s mother was taken aback by the advice to feed such foods to babies before the age of three. However, Leon took the opportunity to explain how the scientific understanding had evolved. “As a dietitian, I practice evidence-based recommendations,” she remarked. “So when someone told me, “This is how it”s done now, these are the new guidelines,” I thought, OK, well, this is what we”re going to do.”
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives backing from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute”s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
