Landmark study clears one in three babies with suspected peanut allergy

More than one in three babies thought to have a peanut allergy didn’t have the condition when they were tested later in life, a landmark Australian study claimed.

Australia has one of the highest instances of food allergies in the world, and about one in 30 Australian children are diagnosed with a peanut allergy.

However, a study conducted by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) found that 35 per cent of babies who had either recently reacted to peanut butter or who had tested positive through a skin prick or blood test, could safely eat peanuts and showed no signs of having an allergy.

The results from the study were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice on Thursday, and stressed that the tests were conducted in a medically supervised setting.

The study tested 1,800 children and was conducted with the help of 10 paediatric hospitals across Australia.

As part of the study, 778 babies were exposed to increasing doses of peanut, while being supervised by a doctor, to check for any signs of an allergy.

Of these babies, 271 showed no signs of any allergy, and are now considered not to be allergic to peanuts.

Australian Medical Association President, Dr Michael Bonning, said these babies would now be able to consume products with peanuts in them at an “age-appropriate” level.

“What this trial does is re-challenge some of those children, so that we can ascertain whether it is a peanut allergy, or whether they have become tolerant,” he told the Today Show.

He said Australia’s high rate of babies and children presenting with peanut allergies is not necessarily a sign that the testing systems used are failing, but reflects the cautious nature of parents and the medical system.

“I would recognise is that we’ve been very cautious. If your child has a big reaction to something, potentially a peanut, we go to the emergency department,” he said.

“As parents, we are cautious, in the medical profession, we want to make sure children aren’t put at risk. In that setting, we are often willing just to label children with a peanut allergy if they’ve had a reaction.”

MCRI Population Allergy Group leader and NACE director Kirsten Perrett, said the results of the study may change how allergy diagnosis, especially for peanuts, is managed in Australia.

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“Oral food challenges are not currently used routinely for every infant with suspected peanut allergy,” she said. 

"But our results show that clinical history and allergy testing alone were not enough to accurately diagnose peanut allergy in many cases.”

Bonning stressed that it was important parents work closely with a GP or an allergist when working to confirm diagnoses of peanut allergies.

“The experience here is that we’re not always certain of what the allergy is or even what the reaction is, so it’s really important to work through this with a doctor.”

Please note the information in this story is general in nature. Please always consult your GP or health professional for advice that is tailored to your specific health concerns.