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TOPLINE:

Despite updated guidelines, peanut consumption among infants remained low; among toddlers, non-Hispanic White children displayed higher rates than any other age or racial/ethnic group. Egg intake varied by age and ethnicity, peaking among Mexican Americans while tree nut consumption increased sharply over time in children and adults.

METHODOLOGY:

• Guidelines for preventing food allergies have evolved from delaying the introduction of potential allergens in infancy to encouraging early oral exposure.
• Researchers used nationally representative data spanning 2003-2023 to examine peanut, egg, and tree nut consumption patterns across age and racial/ethnic groups in the United States.
• Overall, 56,394 participants (mean age, 34.8 years; 52% women) completed two 24-hour dietary recalls on food and beverage consumption for themselves or their children.
• The participants were categorized by age as infants (4-12 months), toddlers (13-47 months), and children/adults (> 47 months) and by race and ethnicity as non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Mexican American.

TAKEAWAY:

• Infant peanut consumption was low — in just 6% (95% CI, 4%-8%) — but increased through infancy peaking at 33% (95% CI, 30%-36%) in toddlers. The highest consumption rate was reported in White toddlers at 41% (95% CI, 37%-45%), surpassing all other racial/ethnic groups across all ages (P < .001).
• Egg consumption was lowest in infants at 17% (95% CI, 14%-19%), rising to 37% (95% CI, 35%-40%) in toddlers and 36% (95% CI, 35%-37%) in children/adults (P < .001). Mexican American children/adults reported the highest intake at 43% (95% CI, 41%-45%).
• Tree nut consumption was minimal in infants (1%; 95% CI, 0%-1%) and toddlers (4%; 95% CI, 3%-5%) but increased significantly in children/adults — rising from 9% (95% CI, 8%-11%) in 2003-2004 to 21% in both the 2017-2020 and 2021-2023 cycles. Non-Hispanic White children/adults reported the highest consumption at 17% (95% CI, 16%-18%).

IN PRACTICE:

“Public health campaigns should address caregiver fears and promote early introduction across all communities to reduce sensitization rates; however, based on our findings, these campaigns should account for differences in cultural and familial patterns of allergen consumption,” the authors of the study wrote. “Continued population-level surveillance is essential to monitor progress and ensure that interventions are equitable and effective in reducing the burden of food allergies in the US,” they added.

SOURCE:

Erin A. Hosein, MS, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was the corresponding author of the study, which was published online on July 28 in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

LIMITATIONS:

The reliance on two nonconsecutive 24-hour recalls, underestimation of allergen exposure by food-code methods, small sample sizes in COVID-era cycles, and restriction to three racial and ethnic groups may have limited generalizability.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Some authors reported receiving consulting fees, grants, or royalties from various pharmaceutical companies. One author reported serving as an associate editor for The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.