Pediatrics and Food Allergies

A new study from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, published in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal Pediatrics in October 2025, finds that introducing peanuts in infancy is associated with a 27% decline in peanut allergy diagnoses and a 38% decline in overall food allergies among U.S. children treated in dozens of pediatric practices. Researchers examined electronic health records from the two years after the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases first recommended earlier peanut introduction, building on the landmark 2015 LEAP trial that showed an 81% risk reduction in high‑risk infants exposed to peanut between 4 and 11 months. The study period predates a 2021 guideline expansion that encouraged early introduction of peanut, egg and other major allergens for all infants, suggesting the full impact of newer advice may not yet be visible in the data. The authors report that egg has now overtaken peanut as the most common food allergen in the children they studied. Because the analysis is observational and based on diagnoses captured in records, it shows strong association rather than definitive proof of cause and effect, and the researchers urge more education and advocacy around early food introduction while advising parents to consult pediatricians before offering allergenic foods.