Study Examines Effects of Early Childhood Peanut Consumption
The prevalence of peanut allergy has doubled in the United Kingdom and the U.S. over the past 10 years. Researchers are trying to learn if early exposure to peanuts (among other food allergens) raises a child’s risk of developing an allergy. In the UK, doctors recommend that peanuts be eliminated from the diet of young children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. This also was standard practice in the U.S. until January 2008, when the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a new clinical report, which noted that the studies conducted so far have produced conflicting results.
The AAP’s expert committee concluded that “the evidence…raises serious questions about the benefit of delaying the introduction of solid foods that are thought to be highly allergic (cow milk, fish, eggs, and peanut-containing foods) beyond 4 to 6 months of age; additional studies are needed.”
A new study, published in the November 2008 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, suggests that early consumption of peanuts actually might prevent peanut allergy. The research team, led by George du Toit, FRCPCH (King’s College, London) comprised investigators from major medical centers in London, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem. Gideon Lack, FRCPH (King’s College), who is leading an extensive study of peanut allergy, funded by FAI and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is one of the authors of the article.
The researchers studied more than 10,000 Jewish schoolchildren in Israel and the UK. Despite their similar genetic background, the children in the UK have a much higher prevalence of peanut allergy than the Israeli children. This difference cannot be accounted for by differences in allergic sensitization, social class, or genetics. But when the researchers analyzed the diet of infants in both countries, they found a significant difference: Peanut is introduced earlier and eaten more frequently and in larger quantities in Israeli infants than those in the UK.
These findings raise the question of whether early introduction of peanuts, rather than avoidance, is a better strategy for the prevention of peanut allergy. However, the authors caution against changes in current prevention guidelines until further studies investigate these strategies.
Learn more:
- Read an article about the study from The New York Times.
- Read the scientific abstract of this study from the NIH’s PubMed database.
- Read about Dr. Gideon Lack’s FAI-funded research, the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) Study.