Dec 3, 2007 1:52 pm US/Eastern
Peanut Allergies Affecting Younger Kids
RALEIGH, N.C. (CBS) ―
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Researchers at Duke University Medical Center found that children born after 2000 had their first adverse reaction to peanuts at a median age of 14 months, almost a year younger than the previous median age of 2.
WJZ
Potentially life-threatening peanut allergies are afflicting children at a younger age than they did 10 years ago.
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center found that children born after 2000 had their first adverse reaction to peanuts at a median age of 14 months, almost a year younger than the previous median age of 2.
The allergy is still relatively rare, affecting about 1.8 million people in the U.S. But researchers say the numbers are rising, especially among children. Some studies even suggest that the number of afflicted children under age 5 has doubled since 1997, though researchers aren't sure why.
For the study, described in an article in Pediatrics, researchers reviewed medical charts of peanut-allergic patients seen at Duke University's pediatric allergy and immunology clinic between July 2000 and April 2006.
Over that six-year period, researchers found that, compared to a similar population group profiled between 1995 and 1997, children in the current study group were exposed to peanuts at a younger median age (14 months vs. 22 months), and consequently experienced adverse reactions at a younger median age (18 months vs. 24 months).
Even within the study group, it was found that children born after 2000 were exposed to peanuts at an even younger median age: 12 months vs. 19 months for those born before 2000.
More than two-thirds of patients (68 percent) also showed allergic reactions or sensitization to other foods (53 percent to eggs, 26 percent to cow's milk, 20 percent to tree nuts, 11 percent to fish, 9 percent to shellfish, 7 percent to soy, 6 percent to wheat and 6 percent to sesame seeds).
Within the past ten years, first peanut exposure and allergic reactions to peanuts have been occurring in children of increasingly younger ages.
Some pediatricians suggest withholding peanut products until children reach age 3.
Duke's chief of pediatric and immunology Dr. Wesley Burks recommends keeping an antihistamine such as Benadryl close by, in case of emergency.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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