Despite several intervention trials involving modifications to the maternal diet , the effect of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation in preventing food allergy remains unclear .
Summary Earlier introduction of allergenic foods is a promising intervention to reduce the risk of some food allergies in high-risk infants .
Purpose of review In the past decade , food allergy has been increasingly recognized as an important public health issue .
The role of maternal and infant diet in the development of food allergy has been a major focus of research throughout this period .
Recently , research in this area has moved from observational studies to intervention trials , and the findings from these trials have started to influence infant feeding guidelines .
In this article , we review recent studies of dietary interventions for preventing food allergy , summarize current knowledge and discuss future research directions .
Randomized placebo‐controlled trial of hen's egg consumption for primary prevention in infants
Background : Hen 's egg is the most common cause of food allergy in early childhood . Objective : We investigated the efficacy and safety of early hen 's egg introduction at age 4 to 6 months to prevent hen 's egg allergy in the general population . Methods : This r and omized , placebo‐controlled trial included 4‐ to 6‐month‐old infants who were not sensitized against hen 's egg , as determined based on specific serum antibodies ( IgE ) . These infants were r and omized to receive either verum ( egg white powder ) or placebo ( rice powder ) added to the first weaning food 3 times a week under a concurrent egg‐free diet from age 4 to 6 until 12 months . The primary outcome was sensitization to hen 's egg ( increased specific serum IgE levels ) by age 12 months . Hen 's egg allergy ( secondary outcome ) was confirmed by double‐blind , placebo‐controlled food challenges . Results : Among 406 screened infants , 23 ( 5.7 % ) had hen 's egg – specific IgE before r and omization . Seventeen of 23 underwent subsequent double‐blind , placebo‐controlled food challenges , and 16 were confirmed as allergic , including 11 with anaphylactic reactions . Of the 383 nonsensitized infants ( 56.7 % male ) , 184 were r and omized to verum and 199 to placebo . At 12 months of age , 5.6 % of the children in the verum group were hen 's egg sensitized versus 2.6 % in the placebo group ( primary outcome ; relative risk , 2.20 ; 95 % CI , 0.68–7.14 ; P = .24 ) , and 2.1 % were confirmed to have hen 's egg allergy versus 0.6 % in the placebo group ( relative risk , 3.30 ; 95 % CI , 0.35–31.32 ; P = .35 ) . Conclusion : We found no evidence that consumption of hen 's egg starting at 4 to 6 months of age prevents hen 's egg sensitization or allergy . In contrast , it might result in frequent allergic reactions in the community considering that many 4‐ to 6‐month‐old infants were already allergic to hen 's egg
Despite several intervention trials involving modifications to the maternal diet , the effect of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation in preventing food allergy remains unclear .
Summary Earlier introduction of allergenic foods is a promising intervention to reduce the risk of some food allergies in high-risk infants .
Purpose of review In the past decade , food allergy has been increasingly recognized as an important public health issue .
The role of maternal and infant diet in the development of food allergy has been a major focus of research throughout this period .
Recently , research in this area has moved from observational studies to intervention trials , and the findings from these trials have started to influence infant feeding guidelines .
In this article , we review recent studies of dietary interventions for preventing food allergy , summarize current knowledge and discuss future research directions .