• Michael O'Sullivan, Sandra Vale, Richard Ks Loh, Jessica Metcalfe, Karin Orlemann, Sandra Salter, Ian Peters, and Alan Leeb.
• Perth Children's Hospital, Perth, WA.
• Med. J. Aust. 2020 Apr 1; 212 (6): 271-275.

ObjectivesTo estimate the proportion of infants introduced to peanut and other common food allergens by 12 months of age; to collect information about parent-reported reactions to food.Design, SettingObservational cohort study, applying the SmartStartAllergy SMS protocol and online questionnaire to parents of 12-month-old infants attending 69 Australian general practices between 21 September 2018 and 3 May 2019.Participants3374 parents recruited via the 69 participating general practices.Main Outcome MeasuresProportions of infants who had eaten peanut and other common food allergens; proportions with parent-reported reactions to food.Results1940 of 3374 invited parents participated in the study (response rate, 57%), of whom 836 (46%) completed the online questionnaire. At 12 months of age, 1673 of 1940 infants had eaten peanut-including foods (86.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 84.6-87.7%); 235 of 1831 parents (12.8%; 95% CI, 11.3-14.5%) reported food-related reactions. Questionnaire responses indicated that dairy was the food type most frequently reported to cause a food-related reaction (72 of 835 exposed infants, 8.6%; 95% CI, 6.8-11%); peanut-related reactions were reported for 20 of 764 exposed children (2.6%; 95% CI, 1.6-4.0%). 97 of 250 parent-reported reactions to food (39%) did not include symptoms that suggested an IgE-mediated allergic reaction.ConclusionInfant feeding practices in Australia have changed over the past decade; a large majority of infants are now fed peanut before 12 months of age. The SmartStartAllergy program allows monitoring of infant feeding practices in primary care, as well as of parent-reported reactions to food in infants.© 2020 The Authors. Medical Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AMPCo Pty Ltd.

25 keywords...

hide…