More and more children are becoming allergic to peanuts and this could be because more pregnant women are eating them, sensitizing their unborn babies, British doctors said last week.
Allergy to peanuts is the most common cause of fatal allergic reaction to food. In severe cases, just a tiny amount of peanut is needed to set off a reaction.Dr. Jonathan Hourihane and colleagues at Southampton General Hospital tested 622 adults and children with known or suspected peanut allergy. They found it is more common than believed.
Reporting in the British Medical Journal, they said just more than 1 percent of the British population was allergic to peanuts, while 7 percent of brothers or sisters of someone allergic to peanuts were also allergic.
Mothers of allergic children were also more likely to be allergic than fathers, and the researchers said they found a tendency for allergy to run in families.
"It has been suggested that before first exposure to peanut foods some infants have been sensitised to peanut by infant milk formulas that contain peanut protein or peanut oil," they wrote.
"Our simple survey of peanut consumption during pregnancy and breast-feeding by mothers of these children with peanut allergy may suggest that they are being exposed to peanut allergens in utero or via breast milk."
They suggested that pregnant and breast-feeding women avoid peanuts - especially if they have other allergies.
In a second study, Dr. Syed Tariq and colleagues at St. Mary's Hospital in Newport found that one in 100 children can become allergic to peanuts by age 4.
Tests on 1,200 children showed that those born to families with allergies were much more prone to peanut and nut allergies and should avoid both.
They also found that children with peanut allergies always had some other allergy, such as eczema or asthma.