Feeding children peanuts regularly from infancy to age five reduced the rate of peanut allergy in adolescence by 71%, even after many years in which children ate or avoided peanuts as desired.
The new findings provide conclusive evidence that early introduction of peanuts into infants’ diets will increase the likelihood of long-term prevention of peanut allergy.
Lead researcher Professor Gideon Lack from King’s College London said: “Decades of advice to avoid peanuts has made parents fearful of introducing it at a young age. The evidence is clear that early introduction of peanuts in childhood “It induces long-term tolerance and protects children from allergies well into adolescence. This simple intervention will make a noticeable difference for future generations and will cause peanut allergies to plummet.”
The results of the LEAP-Trio trial are published today in the journal NEJM Evidence conducted by researchers at King’s College London and sponsored and co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the US National Institutes of Health.
Peanut allergy is increasing in Western countries. The prevalence of peanut allergy is approximately 2% in young children in North America, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, and Australia. For some people, even small amounts of peanuts can cause a life-threatening allergic reaction. This, along with conflicting advice, has made parents and caregivers fearful of introducing peanuts into the diet.
The new research findings come from the LEAP-Trio study, which is based on results from the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) clinical trial. In the first trial, half of the participants were asked to consume peanuts regularly from infancy to age 5, while the other half were asked to avoid peanuts during that period. The researchers found that early introduction of peanuts reduced the risk of peanut allergy at age 5 by 81%.
The researchers followed both groups from age 6 to age 12 or older. During that period, children could choose to eat peanuts as much and as often as they wanted. They found that 15.4% of participants in the early childhood peanut avoidance group and 4.4% of the early childhood peanut consumption group had a peanut allergy at age 12 or older. These results show that regular and early consumption of peanuts reduces the risk of peanut allergy in adolescence by 71% compared to early avoidance.
Professor George Du Toit, co-principal investigator at King’s College London, said: “This is a safe and highly effective intervention that can be implemented as early as 4 months of age. The baby must be developmentally ready to begin weaning and peanuts should be consumed. introduced as a smooth pureed paste or as peanut buns.
The researchers also found that although participants in the LEAP peanut consumption group ate more peanuts during childhood than other participants overall, the frequency and amount of peanuts consumed varied widely in both groups and included periods when they did not eat peanuts. They ate peanuts. This shows that the protective effect of early peanut consumption lasts without the need to eat peanut products consistently throughout childhood and early adolescence.
The LEAP-Trio study team screened adolescents for peanut allergy primarily through an oral food challenge. This involved giving participants increasing amounts of peanuts in a carefully controlled environment to determine if they could safely consume at least 5 grams of peanuts, the equivalent of more than 20 peanuts. The study team also surveyed participants about their recent peanut consumption patterns and verified self-reports by measuring peanuts in participants’ bed dust, a technique previously validated by LEAP researchers.
Professor Lack, head of the Children’s Allergy Service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, added: “Early consumption of peanuts will prevent more than 100,000 new cases of peanut allergy each year around the world.”