According to research developed by researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Oslo in Norway,
early introduction to food, especially allergenic foods, such as peanuts And egg, can reduce the risk of food allergies in predisposed children. Food allergies that can cause mild to acute, life-threatening allergic reactions affect 2-5% of all children.
The results of the study have been published in the scientific journal The Lancet.
Early introduction to allergenic food: here are the benefits
Working within the PreventADALL study, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet, the University of Oslo, the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm (Sweden), the Oslo University Hospital and the Östfold Hospital Trust (Norway), carefully studied whether the Risk of food allergy by the age of three years can be dampened if children are applied early food introduction with small portions of food containing peanuts, milk and eggs from the age of three months.
The results revealed that children who received the first foods had a 1.1% risk of developing an allergic reaction to one of the foods introduced at age three, compared with a 2.6% risk among children. children who have not had an early introduction to food. This indicates that 63 children must be exposed to the early introduction of allergenic foods to prevent food allergies in one child.
The main contributing factor was the reduced risk of peanut allergy, the most common allergy in the study, which was 0.7% in the study group compared to 2.0% in the control group.
“This is a significant protective effect as it involves a simple remedy“, he has declared Björn Nordlundresearch group leader in the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, and specialist nurse at the pediatric hospital Astrid Lindgrenwhere the Swedish part of the research was conducted: “Early introduction to food has clearly reduced the risk of peanut allergy, a lifelong allergy that can cause severe reactions and anxiety that often affect quality of life. “
The research recruited 2,397 children from Norway and Sweden, who were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups. In a previously reported part of the study, the researchers looked at the effect of regular emollients starting at two weeks of age and / or early food introduction on atopic eczema, which is a risk factor for subsequent food allergies. .
One group received an early introduction to food in the form of small regular servings of peanut butter, milk, wheat, or cooked eggs from the age of three months; a second group received the same more moisturizing skin emollients; one third was given only skin emollients; and a quarter did not receive any specific treatment. All parents were asked to follow national guidelines for food introduction.
Peanut was introduced first, followed a week later by cow’s milk, then wheat porridge and egg. Parents were instructed to have their baby taste food at least four days a week along with his regular feeding, and then encouraged to continue feeding the four foods as part of the baby’s regular diet after six months of age: “We are talking about small amounts: a child sucking on a peanut butter-coated finger, for example, or tasting a teaspoon, ”explained Dr. Nordlund.
More than 80% of the children followed up to the age of three, at which time the presence of an allergy to one of the four foods was examined. 44 children were diagnosed with food allergies: 32 with peanut allergy, 12 with egg allergy and four with milk allergy.
Food allergy was diagnosed in 14 (2.3%) of 596 children in the non-intervention group, 17 (3.0%) of 574 children in the skin intervention group, six (0.9%) of 641 children in the food intervention group and seven (1.2 percent) of 583 children in the combined intervention group. Because the prevalence of allergies other than peanuts was low at three years, the study was unable to ascertain the effect on allergy risk associated with all individual foods.
The Swedish National Food Agency’s advice on infant feeding suggests letting babies taste normal food no earlier than four months of age, as long as the quantities are small enough not to compete with food.breastfeeding. The previous introduction into the study does not appear to have influenced breastfeeding: approximately 90% of babies in all groups were still breastfed at the age of six months.
The study identified no safety concerns and no severe allergic reactions caused by early introduction to food were observed: “To be safe, we introduced peanuts during a visit to the clinic at the age of three months, but it doesn’t seem necessary”Dr. Nordlund explained: “We didn’t see any allergic reactions to the first taste of peanuts in the children, so it looks as safe as the other foods in the study. “
The team of scientists stated that their findings support the hypothesis that early introduction to regular, allergenic food, rather than subsequent introduction or avoidance, may reduce the risk of food allergies: “Following our findings and other studies, we can say that it is possible to reduce the risk of food allergy by giving babies small portions of peanut butter regularly from the age of three months, and it also appears to be safe.“, Dr. Nordlund expects.
A limitation of the study is that the surveyed population had a slightly higher education level and a percentage of allergic parents than the normal population. Researchers cannot conclude that it is better to introduce allergenic foods at three months rather than four, as the time of introduction varied in the control group.
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