VIDEO: ‘Caregivers are not getting the message’ regarding early introduction of peanuts

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In this Healio exclusive, Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, discusses the latest guidance on the early introduction of peanuts to prevent allergy and how this information needs to be better disseminated to the public.

Following publication of the LEAP study, the American Academy of Pediatrics changed its earlier guidance to now recommend introducing peanuts to infants early and often, said Gupta, who is professor of pediatrics and medicine and director of the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

However, data show only about 28% of pediatricians and 64% of allergists are fully following all of the allergy prevention guidelines, and peanut allergy incidence has increased to 2.2% of children, she added.

“Allergists, please encourage your pediatricians to use the guidelines and to encourage early peanut introduction, because what we’re seeing in the U.S. is that caregivers are not getting the message,” Gupta said, adding that only about 5% of caregivers report introducing peanuts by 6 months, with very few following recommendations on the appropriate frequency and amounts.

“These are really, really important messages ... because we really want to see that 2.2% start going down back to where it belongs and decrease the incidence of peanut allergy in our kids,” she said.

Watch the video for more.