Peanut allergy prevention and treatment in infants and children
What it found
Giving peanut protein to babies early lowered allergy rates by about 80% in people.
Starting allergy treatment between ages 1 and 3 worked better than starting later.
What they found
Studies in people
Early feeding prevents allergy
Giving peanut protein to babies early cut allergy rates by about 80%. Waiting longer to introduce it made it work less well.
How much to feed
Babies at low risk need about 2 g of peanut protein each week. Babies at high risk need 4 to 6 g weekly.
Reaching all babies
Programs aimed at every baby reduced the overall disease burden more than programs aimed only at high-risk groups. Some ethnic groups and people with limited healthcare access still saw gaps.
Treating young children
Allergy treatment started in children aged 1 to 3 years worked better than in older children. Younger children also had higher rates of the allergy going away completely.
Untreated allergy worsens
Without treatment, peanut-specific antibody levels rise over time. Clinical reactions also become stronger as the child gets older.
What the authors conclude
- They stress that early action during a short developmental window is key to preventing peanut allergy.
- They recommend giving all infants regular peanut protein rather than focusing only on high-risk groups.
- They note that younger children respond better to allergy treatment than older ones.
How it was done
Peanut allergy tends to get worse over time if left untreated, with rising antibody levels and stronger reactions. The authors wanted to see how early action might change that course.
They looked at research on feeding peanut protein to babies to prevent allergy and on treating existing peanut allergy in children. They compared different amounts, ages and approaches across populations.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This work gathers findings from many studies rather than running a single controlled trial.
- It cannot prove that early feeding alone causes the drop in allergy for every individual child.
- Differences between ethnic groups and care access mean results may not apply equally to everyone.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- King's College London, London; Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London; Allergy Centre of Excellence (ACE), London
The paper
- Title
- Prevention and Treatment of Peanut Allergy
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Du Toit G, Lack G (2026). Prevention and Treatment of Peanut Allergy. The New England journal of medicine. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp2314424PubMed 42341303DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error