Eating peanuts young prevents allergies in adolescents

Eating peanuts from infancy through age five may prevent peanut allergies in adolescence, according to a new study from the National Institutes of Health.

A study released Tuesday builds on previous research that found regular consumption of peanut products early in life significantly reduced the incidence of peanut allergies in kindergartners.

“Today's results should increase the confidence of parents and caregivers that feeding their young children peanut products from infancy, according to established guidelines, can provide long-lasting protection against “peanut allergy,” said Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Regularly giving peanut products to children from infancy through age 5 reduced peanut allergies in adolescents by 71 percent, the study found. If such a strategy is implemented on a large scale, Marrazzo said, peanut allergies could be prevented in tens of thousands of children each year.

Peanut allergies affect approximately 1.8% of the U.S. population and can cause a variety of reactions ranging from hives and swelling to coughing, nasal congestion, vomiting, and diarrhea. In the United States, approximately 13 people die each year from peanut-related allergic reactions.

The NIH built on research conducted nearly a decade ago that found that children who consumed at least 6 grams of peanut protein per week before age 1 had an 81% reduction. of peanut allergies at age 5 compared to those who avoided. eat peanuts.

To determine how long this protection against peanut allergies lasted, the NIH enrolled 80% of the initial participants in its Learning Early About Peanut Allergy clinical trial, who were on average 13 years old at the start of the follow-up study . Half the group was asked to eat peanuts and the other half to avoid them.

Protection against peanut allergy in children who began regularly eating peanut products early in life held regardless of how often adolescents ate them, demonstrating that “the The protective effect of early peanut consumption lasted without the need to eat peanut products consistently throughout infancy and early childhood.” adolescence.”