Southampton researchers are part of a study that has found the early introduction of peanut to the diets of infants at high-risk of developing peanut allergy, significantly reduces the risk of peanut allergy until six years of age, even if they stop eating peanut around the age of five.
The LEAP-On study, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and led by King’s College London, the University of Southampton and Immune Tolerance Network, is an extension of the LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study, which showed that the majority of infants at high-risk of developing peanut allergy are protected from peanut allergy at age five years if they eat peanut frequently, starting within the first 11 months of life.
LEAP-On asked whether those infants who had consumed peanut in the LEAP study would remain protected against peanut allergy if they then stopped eating peanut for 12 months. The study found that the early introduction of peanut protects against the development of peanut allergy, and such protection is sustained even when peanut is no longer consumed for 12 months.
Co-investigator Graham Roberts, Professor and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Allergy and Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital said:
“These studies have given us interesting results. For many years, guidelines and paediatricians have recommended that infants avoid peanut. However, The LEAP study showed that early, sustained consumption of peanut is safe and results in a substantial and significant reduction in the development of peanut allergy and now through the LEAP-On study we can show that this protection is continued for a further year.