Peanut allergies drop in children

An estimated 40,000 children avoided peanut allergy diagnoses after the guidelines for when to first expose kids to the food allergen changed, according to new research.

- BY LILA SEIDMAN

PATRICK SISON Associated Press A NEW STUDY has recorded a dramatic drop in peanut allergies after allergen guidance changed.

The dramatic drop in childhood peanut allergies arrives a decade after a watershed study found that feeding peanut products to babies reduced their chances of developing an allergy by over 80%.

For decades, parents were advised to avoid feeding common allergens, such as peanuts, to infants. In 2015, guidance shifted around peanuts for high-risk kids and expanded two years later.

A study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics found that peanut allergy rates in children under the age of 3 dropped by roughly 43% after the recommendations were expanded in 2017. Rates for all food allergies dropped by about 36%.