The decline comes after updates were made to prevention guidelines.
A recent study conducted by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that fewer children are developing peanut allergies.
The study results come after an update to the prevention guidelines in the United States.
Rates of childhood peanut allergies more than tripled between the years of 1997 and 2008, when parents were told to avoid exposing infants to any peanuts to avoid an allergy.
A research trial nearly 10 years ago found that introducing peanut-containing foods to children aged 4 to 11 months could reduce their risk of developing an allergy to peanuts by more than 80%.
In 2017, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued updated guidance in response to the research trial. The updated guidance recommends parents introduce their children to peanut products as early as 4 to 6 months of age.
Since the updated guidance was published, peanut allergies in children under 3 years old declined by 43%. Food allergies overall decreased by 36%.
The CHOP study used electronic health record data from more than 120,000 children across several years up until 2020.
First author on the study and CHOP allergist Stanislaw Gabryszewski said, “Although the early introduction guidelines have been around for a while now, we didn’t have concrete data showing that it is translating into meaningful change here in the United States.”
The study suggests that one fewer child would develop a peanut allergy out of every 300 infants, if families introduced peanuts early. This would amount to tens of thousands fewer peanut allergies across the United States.
The study even found that eggs are the top allergen in young children. Peanuts are no longer the most common.
Additionally, the latest guidelines for parents published in 2021 recommend early introduction of peanut, egg, and other major allergens at ages 4 to 6 months for infants.
Gabryszewski said in the event a child reacts to peanuts, “the first reactions are not very severe.”
