Peanut allergies are a growing health concern, primarily affecting children and teenagers in Western countries. This allergy can cause severe and potentially life-threatening reactions, even with the consumption of small amounts of peanuts.
Parents and healthcare professionals have long been cautious about introducing peanuts into the diets of infants and babies. However, new research sheds promising light on effective prevention methods.
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A study by King's College London reveals that the early introduction of peanuts into the diets of infants can significantly reduce the risk of developing a peanut allergy during adolescence.
Peanut consumption from an early age until five years old reduced the allergy rate in adolescence by 71%, even after years where the children either consumed or avoided peanuts at their discretion. These results clearly show that the early introduction of peanuts in babies can sustainably prevent allergies.
NEJM Evidence publishes the results of the LEAP-Trio trial, conducted by researchers from King's College London and partly funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the United States. The prevalence of peanut allergies is increasing in Western countries, affecting about 2% of young children in North America, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, and Australia. This allergy can be dangerous, making parents hesitant to introduce peanuts.
In this initial study, half of the participants regularly consumed peanuts from early childhood until the age of five, while the other half avoided them. Researchers found that this early consumption reduced the risk of peanut allergy by 81% by the age of five.
Follow-up of the participant groups between six and twelve years or more revealed that 15.4% of the children who avoided peanuts developed an allergy, compared to 4.4% of the children who consumed peanuts early. These results demonstrate that regular and early peanut consumption reduces the allergy risk by 71% during adolescence compared to early avoidance.
Professor George Du Toit, co-principal investigator, emphasizes that this intervention is safe and very effective, and can be implemented as early as four months. The child must be ready for food diversification, and peanuts should be introduced in the form of smooth puree or puffed snacks.
Researchers also discovered that the participants in the peanut-consuming group ate more peanuts throughout childhood than the others, even though the quantity and frequency varied greatly. This shows that the protective effect of early consumption lasts without the need for continuous consumption through childhood and adolescence.
The LEAP-Trio study team tested the teenagers for the allergy primarily through an oral test, giving increasing amounts of peanuts in a controlled setting to see if they could safely consume at least 0.18 ounces (5 grams) of peanuts. They also interviewed the participants about their recent peanut consumption habits and verified their statements by measuring peanut presence in the dust of their beds.
Professor Lack, head of the pediatric allergy service at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, adds that early peanut consumption could prevent over 100,000 new cases of allergy each year worldwide.