Peanut in house dust linked to allergy and eczema in infancy

A new study led by researchers at King's College London in collaboration with the US Consortium of Food Allergy Research and the University of Dundee has found a strong link between environmental exposure to peanut protein during infancy (measured in household dust) and an allergic response to peanuts in children who have eczema early in life. Around two per cent of school children in the UK and the US are allergic to peanuts. Severe eczema in early infancy has been linked to food allergies, particularly peanut allergy. The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, looked at the amount of peanut protein infants aged 3-15 months were exposed to in house dust, by vacuuming dust from the living room and measuring peanut in the dust. The study was conducted in 359 children who had a high risk of developing peanut allergy because they were allergic to cow's milk or egg or had moderate to severe eczema and had tested positive for an allergy to cow's milk or egg. The study found that exposure to peanut in dust early in life doubled the risk of peanut allergy. In children with a history of eczema, the risk of peanut allergy increased further.