On interest to people in cites and areas with high particulate measurement e.g. mining areas.Exposure to higher levels of air pollution as a baby is linked to having a peanut allergy throughout childhood, according to a new study. And policies aimed at tackling poor air quality could potentially reduce the prevalence and persistence of peanut allergies, it stated.
The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the University of Melbourne, found being exposed to higher levels of air pollution from infancy was associated with increased odds of developing a peanut allergy and having the allergy persist across the first 10 years of life. However, the same association was not seen for egg allergy or eczema.
Published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the study is the first to explore the link between air pollution and challenge-proven food allergy over the first decade of life.
The research involved 5,276 children in Melbourne from the HealthNuts study, recruited at age one and followed-up at four, six and 10 years. The research team used estimates of the annual average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at each participant’s residential address at the time of each follow up.
https://www.mcri.edu.au/news-stories/air-pollution-linked-to-peanut-allergy-during-childhood
