Egg allergy rates plummet after parents make one little change

Boiled, fried, scrambled, or baked into a treat, no matter which way you eat your eggs, they’re known to be “nature’s multivitamin”.

Parents were once advised to keep allergenic foods like eggs away from babies, especially if allergies ran in the family.

Now, new research from the University of Queensland Child Health Research Centre has uncovered a dramatic drop in allergy rates.

About a decade ago, there was a drastic change in the guidance for parents – to no longer keep allergenic foods away from babies until one to three years of age, and instead introduce them by six months.

Since then, the prevalence of egg allergy among children fell by more than 17 per cent, according to a new study of 72000 Australian children published yesterday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Lead author Professor Jennifer Koplin said it was “a big change from the advice that was out there previously” but appeared to be paying off.

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“It’s good to prioritise things that are already part of the family’s diet, so the sorts of foods that you’re eating more often at home anyway,” Koplin told 9News.

It’s now recommended parents also include other common allergy foods like cow’s milk, fish, and tree nuts in their child’s diet before their first birthday.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to show a population-level reduction in egg allergy after the introduction of new infant feeding guidelines,” Koplin told CNN.

Eggs are one of five severe allergies 22-year-old Bella Keegan suffers from.

But the Queenslander is excited by the new study and what it might mean for the next generation.

“I can pass away from eating egg,” she told 9News.

“My throat closes up, I get rashes, I stop breathing.”

Keegan also has allergies to nuts, crustaceans, pawpaw and oranges and says this means “you literally have to read every ingredient on anything you buy at the shop”.

It also makes eating out more difficult but she’s hopeful kids growing up today may not have to live in the same way.

“The less people that have to go through this and worry about this and worry about their lives every single time they eat out, I think, I think is incredible,” she said.

The new study looked at two groups aged between 11 and 15 months old who had immunisation visits at centres in Melbourne.

One group had visits which occurred between 2007 and 2011, before the guidelines in Australia were updated, and the second group had visits between 2018 and 2019, after the update.

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Parents of the kids in both groups completed questionnaires and infants were tested for an egg allergy.

The researchers then analysed each group, taking a close look at what age each infant was introduced to eggs and how many were found to have an egg allergy.

“We began this study hoping to see a reduction in egg and other food allergies after the introduction of the 2016 guidelines,” Koplin said.

“However, we were unsure to what extent parents would adopt these recommendations, or whether this would translate into a measurable reduction in food allergy.

“We were therefore encouraged to find that most parents had followed the new guidelines, and importantly, that this was associated with a clear reduction in egg allergy.”

The data showed that the proportion of infants introduced to eggs by six months of age more than doubled from about 25 per cent in the 2007-2011 group, before guidance changed, to about 57 per cent in the 2018-2019 group, after guidance had changed.

The researchers also found that the prevalence of egg allergy decreased from 9.2 per cent in the 2007-2011 group, before guidance changed, to 7.6 per cent in the 2018-2019 group, after guidance changed – which corresponds to a 17.7 per cent relative decrease, according to the study.

Eczema is a known risk factor for developing food allergies, and when the researchers analysed the data specifically in infants with early eczema, similar findings emerged.

In infants with early eczema, the prevalence of egg allergy decreased from 34.6 per cent to 21.9 per cent, the study showed.

Egg allergy has become one of the most prominent allergies in children but most tend to outgrow it by 16 and by adulthood, the allergy is less common.

In people with egg allergy, the immune system overreacts to proteins found in egg whites or egg yolks.

This can cause serious allergic symptoms, including hives, respiratory symptoms and sometimes, anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction that can lead to a closing of the of airways.

While doctors want children to be introduced to eggs early, parents should make sure that their children are ready to safely ingest the food, such as ensuring they can control their own head and neck, they open their mouth when you offer food, they sit up alone or with support, and they bring objects to their mouth and show swallowing cues.

Parents also should take the time to monitor children for any allergy symptoms.

It’s important to also talk with your child’s GP about when and how to introduce solid foods.

- Reported with CNN.