new advice for kids with peanut allergy

by Diane Lofshult

Food for Thought:

Are today’s kids more prone to developing a peanut allergy at an earlier age than past generations?

Researchers at Duke University examined the number of children diagnosed with peanut allergy from July 2000 to April 2006 and compared that figure to the number diagnosed with the same condition a decade earlier at Johns Hopkins University. Sure enough, kids are now falling prey to peanut allergy earlier than they were 10 years ago.

“The ages of first peanut exposure and reaction have declined among peanut-allergic children seen in a referral clinic,” the researchers concluded. “The decline in the age of first peanut reaction seems to be attributable to earlier exposure.” However, in apparent contradiction to that message, the authors also noted that peanut allergy is uncommon in countries (such as Israel) where children are exposed to the food earlier than is usual in the United States. They also noted that kids who are already allergic to eggs or milk are more likely to develop a peanut allergy.

The study was published in the November 2008 issue of Pediatrics.

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