WASHINGTON—It might be possible to identify a potentially life-threatening allergy to peanuts early in life in infants according to preliminary findings of a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (“Immunologic features of infants with milk or egg allergy enrolled in an observational study (CoFAR) of food allergy,” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.02.038).
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reports that early results from a study by the clinical group of the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR) of more than 500 infants (between 3 and 15 months old) with egg or milk allergy indicate that they are highly likely to test positive for allergic antibodies specific to peanuts. The study’s unexpected finding suggests that these infants are at risk for developing peanut allergy later in life and should be evaluated by a health care professional before introducing peanuts into their diet.
During the initial assessment of the infants, the CoFAR investigators measured the level of IgE antibody to peanuts. They made two unexpected observations: More of the infants have elevated levels of IgE antibody to peanuts than the investigators had anticipated, and some of these infants have such high levels that they may already be allergic to peanuts without their parents being aware of it.
Eggs, milk and peanuts are the three most common allergenic foods for infants. An infant with a milk or egg allergy, or moderate to severe eczema is at risk for developing a peanut allergy.
According to the NIH, this is the first systematic study of the natural development of these three food allergies in very young children. These infants will be followed until five years of age to see if their allergy to milk or eggs continues or resolves, and to see if they develop an additional allergy to peanuts.
The researchers encourage parents of children with egg or milk allergy to talk to their doctor before incorporating peanuts or peanut products into their child's diet.
