Feeding infants peanut products consistently until the age of five can significantly lower the likelihood of developing peanut allergies later in life. New research indicates a 71% reduction in peanut allergy rates among adolescents who consumed peanut products from infancy, even if there were periods of avoidance. This approach is proving to be a major breakthrough in allergy prevention.
Exposure to peanuts reduces risk of peanut allergies
According to Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, introducing peanut products to infants as per recommended guidelines can offer long-term protection against peanut allergies. If broadly adopted, this straightforward and safe approach could potentially prevent tens of thousands of peanut allergy cases.
The findings from the LEAP-Trio study, published in NEJM Evidence, build on the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) trial and the LEAP-On study, both supported by NIAID. In the LEAP trial, participants were split into two groups: one consumed peanut products regularly from infancy to age five, while the other avoided them. The study found that early peanut consumption reduced the risk of developing a peanut allergy by 81% by age five. Even after abstaining from peanuts from ages five to six in the LEAP-On study, most children who had consumed peanuts early retained their allergy protection.
Avoiding peanuts early increases risk of developing allergies
The LEAP-Trio study aimed to determine if early peanut consumption’s protective effects could last into adolescence and considered if children could eat peanuts freely. Children allergic to peanuts at age six were advised to continue avoiding them.
The study revealed that 15.4% of participants who avoided peanuts early on developed a peanut allergy by age 12 or older, compared to only 4.4% who consumed peanuts early. This suggests that early and consistent peanut introduction can lower the risk of peanut allergies in adolescence. Additionally, while those in the LEAP study’s peanut-consumption group generally ate more peanuts, their intake varied and included times without any peanut consumption, indicating that benefits can arise even without regular peanut intake.
