A recently published study by Nishimura et al examined the early introduction of multiple foods to young infants with eczema - the leading risk factor for food allergies. The authors found that feeding very small amounts of multiple foods over just 12 weeks safely reduced the incidence of food allergy at 18 months. The study also had a 98% study completion rate, which the authors attributed to the convenience of a powder that could be easily fed every day.
“This seemed to be because the powder in the bag could be given easily to the baby every day. Thus, the main advantage of our food allergy prevention method was the ease of compliance.”
Study Overview:
A randomized, placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy of incremental amounts of multiple food allergens in infants for the prevention of food allergy.
Method:
Infants between 3-4 months of age with a diagnosis of eczema were enrolled and randomly assigned 1:1 to receive either a placebo powder (PP) or mixed powder (MP) containing very small amounts of six allergenic foods:
Infants fed the MP were given small, step-wise amounts of the six allergens over the course of 12 weeks.
At the end of the 12-week intervention, participants were clinically evaluated and instructed on how to proceed with feeding based on Japanese guidelines. Additional clinical evaluations and blood tests, including food-specific IgE levels to the 6 food proteins fed to infants, were collected at 11-13 months. At 18 months of age, participants returned for clinical assessment.
Results from the study demonstrated:
The authors conclude that, “food allergy prophylaxis may be particularly effective in children with early food sensitization.”
Nishimura T, Fukazawa M, Fukuoka K, et al. Early introduction of very small amounts of multiple foods to infants: A randomized trial [published online ahead of print, 2022 Mar 30]. Allergol Int. 2022;S1323-8930(22)00011-9. doi:10.1016/j.alit.2022.03.001
