PITTSBURGH, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The median age of a child's first peanut exposure and reaction were 14 and 18 months, respectively, a U.S. report found.
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, determined the median age of peanut-allergic patients between 2000 and 2006. The median ages were much lower than in a similar study of patients from 1995 to 1997, when the median age of first exposure and reaction were 22 and 24 months, respectively.
"The results of our study may suggest that American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines endorsing the delayed introduction of peanuts until age 3 for children with a strong family history of allergies are not being followed widely in the United States," Todd Green, of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, said in a statement. "At the same time, the prevalence of peanut allergy among children has reportedly doubled nationwide over the last decade. This could be due both to a higher rate of peanut allergy and to more public awareness and recognition on the part of the medical community."
Further research is ongoing to determine whether early or delayed introduction of peanuts actually promotes tolerance or prevents peanut allergy, Green said.
Green conducted the research while in training at Duke University Medical Center.
