Dr. Christine McCusker of the Meakins-Christie Laboratories was part of the team of researchers that discovered an effective strategy to reduce the risk of peanut allergy: introducing peanuts into a child’s diet before the age of three.
In 2017, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases adopted guidelines recommending the introduction of peanut butter to babies between four to six months old to reduce food allergies. At the time, Canada recommended delaying peanut butter introduction until age three. The impact of these new guidelines on allergies in Canada had not been assessed until a recent study titled Trends of peanut-induced anaphylaxis rates before and after the 2017 early peanut introduction guidelines in Montreal, Canada, published in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
Researchers analyzed data from the Montreal Children’s Hospital Emergency Department (ED) between 2011 and 2019, focusing on peanut-induced anaphylaxis cases. Of 2011 total anaphylaxis cases, 429 were triggered by peanuts, with 180 being first-time reactions. The study revealed a significant decrease in peanut-related anaphylaxis rates after 2017 among children aged two and under, who could benefit from the early peanut introduction guidelines. The rate of first-time anaphylaxis in this group decreased by 7.96 cases per 100,000 ED visits every four months. No significant changes were observed in children aged three to 17 or in those who already had a known peanut allergy.
The increase in food allergies, including peanut allergies, over the past decade makes the findings of this study worthy of further investigation and validation.
Dr. McCusker, a Research Director at the Meakins-Christie Laboratories and Head of Immunology at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, is a collaborator on the study and co-author of the publication.
Read the Article:
Yu J, Lanoue D, Mir A, Kaouache M, Bretholz A, Clarke A, McCusker C, Protudjer JLP, Jones A, Ben-Shoshan M. Trends of Peanut-Induced Anaphylaxis Rates Before and After the 2017 Early Peanut Introduction Guidelines in Montreal, Canada. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2024 Jun 12:S2213-2198(24)00626-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2024.06.004. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38876271.
Read more:
Introducing peanuts earlier to reduce allergy risk, RI-MUHC News, August 14, 2024.