WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - According to a recent study, families' attempts to keep their kids from becoming allergic to peanuts can be greatly impacted by giving pediatricians access to basic resources like training videos, parent handouts, and electronic health record prompts.
According to a study published in Pediatrics, pediatricians who received this extra support were significantly more likely to counsel parents to start introducing peanut-based foods early in infancy. This practice has been shown to reduce the risk of peanut allergies by as much as 80 percent.
Lead author Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatrician and professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, stated that providing pediatricians with training and user-friendly resources greatly enhanced their capacity to assist families.
More than 18,000 children from 30 pediatric practices in Illinois participated in the study. Compared to just 35 percent of families in practices without the additional tools, approximately 84 percent of families in the intervention group received the proper guidance on peanut introduction.
Nearly eight percent of children in the United States suffer from food allergies, with peanut allergies affecting slightly over 2 percent of them. This number has sharply increased since the 1990s.
It has been demonstrated that early exposure between 4 and 6 months significantly reduces the risk of allergies, particularly in higher-risk infants with eczema or egg allergies.
Due to the high volume of 4- and 6-month visits, Gupta stated that this support is essential. 'We hope to reverse the rising trend of food allergies in the United States by giving parents the confidence to introduce peanut products at an early age.'
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