Important risk factors for the development of food allergy and potential options for prevention

Abstract

Introduction: Food allergy currently affects up to 10% of infants. Identification and implementation of effective food allergy prevention strategies is thus imperative. Areas covered: We focus on five food allergy risk factors/prevention strategies which have been or are currently being tested in randomized controlled trials: (1) timely introduction of allergenic foods into the infant diet; (2) maternal diet and consumption of allergenic foods during pregnancy and breastfeeding; (3) infant skin barrier and the role of moisturizers in early life; (4) infant Vitamin D levels and the role of Vitamin D supplementation; and (5) microbial exposure in early life. Expert commentary: Earlier introduction of allergenic foods, particularly peanut, in the infant diet has been shown to reduce food allergy. Novel intervention strategies, including infant vitamin D supplementation, maternal diet modifications, and moisturizing infants to improve skin barrier, are currently being tested in large-scale clinical trials. As results of these trials become available, we hope strategies that are both efficacious and cost-effective will be revealed and their implementation in the population, along with the timely introduction of allergenic foods, will reduce the burden of food allergy in future generations.

Keywords: Food allergy; allergenic foods; eczema; microbial exposure; peanut allergy; prevention; risk factors; vitamin D.