March 17, 2023

Peanut allergies and babies

Peanut allergy has seen a five-fold increase in recent decades. It now affects around one in 50 children in the UK. 

A new analysis assesses the best time to introduce the allergen into babies’ diets, identifying a clear ‘window of opportunity’ between four and six months of age depending on the child’s health.  The authors say that peanut allergy could plummet by 77% if peanut products were added to all babies’ diets at four to six months.

The study, “Defining the window of opportunity and target populations to prevent peanut allergy” is published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Journalists came to this online briefing to hear from the authors of the paper about its findings and implications.

Speakers included:

Prof Graham Roberts, Professor in Paediatric Allergy & Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton

Prof Gideon Lack, Professor of Paediatric Allergy at King’s College London

Mary Feeney, Paediatric Dietitian/Clinical Research Dietitian at King’s College London

Prof George du Toit, Professor in Paediatric Allergy at King’s College London

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of Comments.