Peanut allergy prevalence stabilised in Isle of Wight

Researchers in the UK have investigated the prevalence of peanut allergy in three cohorts of children born in the same geographical location, the Isle of Wight, to determine whether the prevalence of peanut allergy has changed over the past two decades.

Three cohorts of children all born on the Isle of Wight were assessed for peanut allergy and the outcomes compared.

The 2,181 children in the first cohort were born in 1989 and reviewed at the age of 4years. The second cohort, comprising 1,273 children, born between1994 and 1996, were reviewed between 3 and 4 years of age. The final cohort of 891 children, born between 2001 and 2002, was reviewed at 3 years of age.

Peanut sensitization increased significantly from 1.3% in those children born in 1989 to 3.3% in those children born between1994 and 1996, before falling back to 2.0% in the third group of children who were born between 2001 and 2002. Results of clinical assessment of peanut allergy in these groups followed the same trend.

The researchers concluded that peanut sensitization and reported allergy in children increased significantly in those born between 1989 and those born in 1994-1996, but prevalence seems to have stabilised or slightly decreased since the late 1990s.

Reference: Venter et al. 2010. Allergy. Vol. 65 pp. 103-108.