Allergy risk: the importance of not diversifying infant diets too late

The development of food allergies in the French population has become a major public health problem. Parents are now encouraged to introduce potentially allergenic foods from the age of 4 months, at the same time as other foods. However, the impact of these new measures needed to be evaluated. Researchers at INRAE used data from the Elfe cohort to explore the link between infant feeding practices (age of food introduction, dietary diversity, quality of diet, introduction of main allergens) and the risk of developing allergic diseases such as food allergies, eczema, asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis.

The Elfe study analyzed food diversification habits during the first year of life and food allergies in 6,662 children in the cohort. Data were collected monthly, providing a precise overview of the child’s diet from 3 to 10 months. Parents also shared information about their children’s health in telephone interviews at 2 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3.5 years and 5.5 years, covering the entire period since the last follow-up.

The researchers found that only 62% of children began food diversification within the recommended period, i.e. between 4 and 6 months. They then studied the link between the delayed introduction of major allergens and the risk of food allergy. For 1 in 10 children, at least 2 major allergens - eggs, fish, wheat and dairy products - had not yet been introduced into the diet by the age of 10 months. Yet these same children are 2 times more likely to develop a food allergy before the age of 5.5 than those for whom the 4 allergens considered are introduced before the age of 10 months.

This work confirms the importance of not delaying the introduction of major food allergens to prevent the onset of allergic diseases in childhood. They provide convincing new arguments to support the new recommendations of the French Pediatric and Allergy Societies and Santé publique France.