Pediatrics

Early allergen introduction linked to decline in pediatric food allergy rates

October 21, 2025

Study details: Using EHR data from the AAP CER² network, researchers compared food allergy incidence in three cohorts of children aged 0 to 3 years: preguidelines (2012–2014), postguidelines (2015–2017), and postaddendum (2017–2019). Outcomes included cumulative incidence of peanut or any IgE-mediated food allergy (IgE-FA) and atopic dermatitis, analyzed with logistic regression, Cox models, and interrupted time series.

Results: Peanut IgE-FA incidence declined from 0.79% to 0.53% postguidelines (hazard ratio [HR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55–0.77) and to 0.45% postaddendum (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.46–0.66). Any IgE-FA dropped from 1.46% to 1.02% postguidelines (HR, 0.69) and to 0.93% postaddendum (HR, 0.63). All reductions were statistically significant (P < 0.0001).

Clinical impact: The findings support early allergen introduction as an effective public health strategy. Clinicians should continue recommending peanut and other allergen introduction at 4 to 6 months to reduce food allergy risk.

Source:

Gabryszewski SJ, et al. (2025, October 20). Pediatrics. Guidelines for Early Food Introduction and Patterns of Food Allergy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41110838/