Allergy fall link to age

AN increase in the number of Australian children who outgrow egg allergies by preschool, is leading an overall drop in food allergies at age four, according to new research.

Despite almost two thirds of children outgrowing their food allergy by four years of age, Melbourne is still the food allergy capital of the world.

The latest findings from Murdoch Childrens Research Institute’s HealthNuts study, in which almost 5300 children were tested for allergies at age one and four years, has found the prevalence of food allergies decreased from 11 per cent to 3.8 per cent between those two ages.

The study found this decrease was led by the number of children who outgrew egg allergies, falling from 9.5 to 1.2 per cent.