The increase in food allergies worldwide has led to mounting concern among healthcare providers, families, schools, and the food industry. Of particular interest is the growing prevalence of peanut allergy. The Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study confirms that the early introduction of peanut significantly decreases the risk of developing peanut allergy among high-risk children. However, a number of issues, such as a unified definition of high risk and whether or not to screen patients before peanut introduction, remain. This article will review the LEAP findings and the new peanut allergy prevention guidelines, and then briefly discuss recommendations on the introduction of other allergenic foods based on results from other food allergy prevention randomised controlled trials.
Keywords: food allergy; guideline; infant feeding; peanut allergy; prevention.
© 2017 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).