Allergies Guide

Results from a randomized clinical trial published in Pediatrics show that pediatricians who received targeted educational and clinical decision-support tools were significantly more likely to advise parents to introduce peanut-containing foods early – an approach recommended by national prevention guidelines but often underused in practice. About 8 percent of U.S. children have food allergies. Peanut allergy, the most common pediatric food allergy, affects more than 2 percent of children nationwide.

Although serious conditions ranging from diabetes, anemia, short stature, infertility, Down Syndrome and diarrhea can all be associated with celiac disease, few people in the U.S. have heard of it. A multi-center study led by the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research in Baltimore finds that celiac disease is much more common in this country than previously thought.

Two separate research studies published in the journal Immunity provide significant details about why immune cells attack the body's own healthy tissues in response to a harmless substance that the immune system mistakenly perceives as a threat. The results are likely to further research efforts designed to combat and hopefully prevent autoimmune disorders like celiac disease.

Nursing mothers can help prevent or delay food allergic reactions in high-risk infants through dietary modifications, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. High-risk infants are those who have someone in their family who has allergies.

Research regarding a safer and less expensive way to diagnose food allergy in children was presented in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology. Childhood allergies to foods are very common. The most common food allergies in young children are milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, and soy. Although statistics show 8 percent of young children are allergic to these common foods, a clinical history of a food allergy is only accurate half of the time.