Reducing the Risk of Peanut Allergy

If you have a youngster or grandchild in elementary school, you may have noticed a change in protocols. Long ago, kids with birthdays used to bring cupcakes to school for the class. Nowadays, they bring craft projects or other non-food treats. Schools are working hard to protect children from allergic reactions, especially peanut allergy. Pediatricians and allergists are now reporting success in reducing this condition.

How Common Is Peanut Allergy?

The US saw a dramatic increase in food allergies, especially peanut allergy, starting in the late 20th century (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, July 2015). In reaction, pediatricians recommended that parents protect their vulnerable newborns from exposure to peanuts, fearing this could trigger an allergic response. Consequently, parents often became cautious about feeding their infants peanut butter.

Should Babies Be Protected from Peanuts?

However, life-threatening allergic reactions became even more common. Then, a study published a decade ago in The New England Journal of Medicine suggested that exposing babies to small amounts of peanut protein during the first year of life might actually reduce the likelihood of peanut allergy (New England Journal of Medicine, online, Feb. 23, 2015).

In this British study more than 500 babies between four and eleven months old had egg allergy or severe eczema. As a result, they were considered to be at risk for peanut allergy.

These youngsters were tested for peanut allergy, and if they did not react they were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Parents of babies in one group were admonished to avoid all peanut products. The other group of parents was told to feed their infants at least six grams of peanut protein a week.

The Results of Feeding Babies Peanut Protein:

Researchers tested the children again at age five. To everyone’s surprise, less than 2 percent of the kids who had been eating peanuts had developed an allergy. In the peanut-avoiding group, however, more than 13 percent of the youngsters were allergic.

The investigators encouraged parents to have their babies tested for peanut allergy. If the test came back negative, they suggested that the child could eat peanut-containing food regularly. They hoped this might even keep some youngsters from developing peanut allergies.

New Data Show a Dramatic Decline in Peanut Allergy:

After the publication of that landmark study, pediatricians changed their guidelines. Instead of counseling avoidance, they started recommending that babies between four and six months be given small amounts of peanut butter or other appropriate peanut foods.

This strategy seems to be working. A new analysis of medical records found that an infant’s risk of developing peanut allergy dropped by 35 percent from 2014 before the guidelines to post-guidelines (2017-2019)(Pediatrics, Oct. 20, 2025). Currently, about 0.45 percent of children under 3 develop peanut allergies and 0.93 percent develop any food allergy. That is down from 1.46 percent pre-guideline change. Although the numbers seem small, the change is very significant. Being able to avoid this type of potentially life-threatening reaction is a real advantage for young children and their families.