Egg allergy on the decline thanks to updated feeding guidelines

The number of children with egg allergies has dropped by 17% in the past ten years since a guideline update recommending earlier introduction of egg into the infant diet.

Associate Professor Jennifer Koplin of UQ’s Child Health Research Centre said the guidelines are helping to turn around statistics showing Australia has some of the highest rates of food allergy in the world, with one in 10 infants allergic to one or more foods.

Her research published in June in JAMA Pediatrics compared two Australian population-based samples of one-year-old-babies before and after the guideline update in 2016.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to show a reduction in egg allergy after the introduction of new infant feeding guidelines at a population level,” Dr Koplin said.



“Most parents followed the guidelines, and these results provide reassurance that this advice will help reduce the chance of their child developing an egg allergy.”

A triumph of updated guidelines

Associate Professor Rachel Peters of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute said the reduction is a triumph for the introduction of the 2016 guidelines, which was a major change from previous advice.

“Most advice given in the 1990s and early 2000s recommended parents delay giving eggs and other allergenic foods until 1-3 years of age if there was a strong family history of allergy,” Dr Peters said.



“Current advice from the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, based on the latest available evidence, is to introduce well-cooked egg and smooth peanut butter soon after a baby starts eating solid foods, usually around six months of age.”

The reduction in egg allergy was even more pronounced in babies with eczema, which is a known risk factor for food allergies. Of these children, egg allergy rates were reduced from 35% to 22%.



Other common allergy-causing foods such as cow milk, fish, sesame, wheat and tree nuts are now also recommended to be included in the diet before one year of age.



Further research still needed

Despite these successes, Dr Koplin said more research into food allergies was desperately needed.



“Although we are beginning to see a reduction in egg allergy, it still remains common,” she said.



“Some babies can still develop food allergy despite following the guidelines, and further research is underway and needed, to find other prevention strategies.”


“But we hope these findings provide reassurance to parents to continue following the current recommendations.”