Mothers eating a diet rich in peanuts while breastfeeding might be helping to reduce their baby’s risk of developing a peanut allergy – that’s the hypothesis of a new clinical trial that has been granted $2.29 million in funding by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Led by The Kids Research Institute Australia Head of the Early Life & Life-Course Health Program, Associate Professor Debbie Palmer, 4,000 pregnant women across Perth and Melbourne will be recruited over the course of the five-year trial.
Half will be allocated a diet high in peanuts while breastfeeding, while others will consume a diet low in peanuts.
The peanut trial will be led by The Kids Research Institute Australia in collaboration with organisations including the Centre for Human Lactation Research and Translation at The University of Western Australia (of which Associate Professor Palmer is also Co-Director), Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE), and Centre for Food Allergy Research (CFAR).
“We know that when a breastfeeding mother eats peanuts, we can detect peanut proteins in her breast milk. This research will aim to determine whether breastfeeding mothers eating more or less peanuts will help to prevent their babies developing peanut allergy,” Associate Professor Palmer said.
“The results from this research project will inform national maternal dietary guidelines for peanut allergy prevention.
“We need new studies and trials to determine how we can prevent food allergies in children, because at the moment, one in 10 young Australian children have a food allergy, and with peanut allergies, one in 30 – which is approximately one child in every school class with a peanut allergy.
“Reducing the prevalence of peanut allergy in Australia will reduce rising rates of food anaphylaxis, emergency department visits and hospital admissions.”
The Kids Research Institute Australia Executive Director Jonathan Carapetis welcomed the funding and said Associate Professor Palmer’s work had the potential to make a huge impact on reducing the incidence of peanut allergies in children.
“This is globally significant research which has the potential to impact many lives and change dietary recommendations around peanut allergy prevention,” Professor Carapetis said.
The trial is one of 25 across the nation to share in more than $77 million in funding under the latest round of the NHMRC’s Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grant scheme. Projects funded under this scheme are designed to establish a solid evidence base required for better clinical care and outcomes, as well as improved health and wellbeing services, practices and policies.
Associate Professor Palmer is also Co-chair of the NACE Food Allergy Stream Advisory Group, and a Chief Investigator of the CFAR. The grant will be administered by The University of Western Australia.
Interested mothers-to-be should email the trial at NutsForBabies@telethonkids.org.au.