The latest study, from Associate Professor Rachel Peters from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s National Allergy Centre of Excellence, offers some helpful answers. This study particularly looks at prevention of food allergies, particularly with a focus on peanut allergies in children. These findings are remarkable evidence of a transformation in early feeding practices since the release of new guidelines in 2016. This shift has profound importance on how we approach preventing allergies in the future.
The study compared two cohorts recruited in Melbourne using the same methods, but separated by a decade. More importantly, it reveals valuable insights into the effectiveness of these guidelines. Associate Professor Peters stresses the need for more research. These findings confirm what we’ve long suspected—that we must investigate the many potential contributors to food allergies in greater detail.
In 2015, the U.S. came out with new guidelines for when and how to introduce peanuts to babies. To prevent peanut allergies after birth, parents were advised to introduce their babies to peanut-containing foods before six months of age. So far, this change in guidance has produced hopeful outcomes. A recent analysis by Dr. David Hill from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that nearly 60,000 American children have been prevented from developing peanut allergies as a result of these recommendations!
“What our data shows is that because of, or at least associated with those early introduction guidelines, there’s about 60,000 less kids with food allergy today than there would have been. And that’s a remarkable thing, right? That’s the size of some cities,” – likely Dr. David Hill.
Associate Professor Peters acknowledged this, saying that close to 90 percent of babies in Australia are eating products containing peanuts by their first year. It’s a trend that fits like a hand in glove with the new recommendations. This is a huge jump from previous recommendations. In the past, parents were warned to avoid those foods entirely until their kids were at least three years of age.
“Even though we are certainly starting to see a reduction in the rates of peanut allergy in Australia, they are still quite high, and higher than in some other countries around the world,” she explained.
The differences in allergy rates within Australia are stark. “We even see that within Australia. We have higher rates of food allergy in Melbourne compared to what we see in Queensland,” she added. This large disparity between cities raises questions as to what environmental or genetic factors contribute to the development of food allergies between coasts.
In the past 10 years, scholars in Australia have completed at least two grand attempts. These studies are looking to find out how to prevent food allergies before they start. Her research has largely centered on developing positive first feeding experiences. They want to determine which potential allergens might play a role in the development of food allergies.
Dr. Hill highlighted that the key is to expose infants to potential allergens via the mouth as early as possible. To illustrate his point, he cited results from the LEAP study. “The LEAP study showed that if we actually introduce that allergen to children by mouth, having them eat it, before they’re introduced to it via their skin, we can reduce the risk that that child’s going to go on to develop the food allergy itself,” he noted.
We’re doing the research, Associate Professor Peters and her colleagues would like to see, for example, to help establish clear guidelines for infant feeding practices. This article explains how their work is addressing the increasing rates of food allergies in Australia.
