As published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, and reported by Global News, the long-running CHILD Cohort Study suggests that children who don’t eat peanut protein before turning one could be more likely to develop a peanut allergy by age three.
Specifically, researchers say babies who haven’t been introduced to peanuts by their first birthday are more than four times as likely to have a clinical allergy to them when compared to those who were exposed to peanuts.
This is in-line with previous research by the CHILD Cohort Study done in 2017, which found that early introduction of allergens for infants can decrease the risk of developing an allergy later, especially in high-risk infants. Subjects of this new study drew from the general population, with more participants not considered to be high-risk.
Lead researcher, Elinor Simons said, “This study’s findings should reassure parents, caregivers and health-care professionals about the benefits of early peanut introduction for all children.” Simons is a clinician-scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.