Peanut allergy risk highest at home: study

Children allergic to peanuts are far more likely to be exposed to them at home than at school, a new study has found.

These are the findings of a clinical research team that looked at the circumstances surrounding 567 incidents of accidental peanut exposure to allergic children.

The research team included doctors from across Canada, including Université de Montréal and McGill University.

“Our study looked at 1,941 children who had been diagnosed as being allergic to peanuts to determine how exposure occurs, how serious the outcomes of the exposure are, and what treatment is given,” Dr. Sabrine Cherkaoui, the first author of the study, said in a statement.

“We discovered that children are most at risk of exposure in their own homes. Furthermore, when children do have a moderate or severe reaction to an exposure, parents and medical professionals often do not know how to react appropriately.”

All the children in the study had previously suffered allergic reactions to peanuts, and were recruited from allergy clinics or allergy advocacy organizations.

During the study, 429 children were exposed to peanuts 567 times. Reactions to exposures were classified as severe (11.3 per cent) and moderate (50.1 per cent).

“Only 42 per cent of severe peanut allergy reactions recorded in this study were evaluated by a medical professional, and almost one in six went totally untreated,” Dr. Cherkaoui said.

“For moderate reactions, the situation is far worse — medical attention was sought only 25 per cent of the time.

“This is despite 37 per cent of exposures occurring in the child’s own home. Other people’s homes and restaurants accounted for 14.3 per cent and 9.3 per cent of exposures, respectively. Schools and daycares where peanuts are forbidden represented 4.9 per cent of the cases of exposure; for schools and daycares where peanuts are allowed, it’s three per cent.”

Researchers also put forward possible explanations for the lack of difference between schools and daycares that allow peanuts and those that don’t. “Firstly, schools and daycares that allow peanuts may be doing a good job of controlling risk due to heightened awareness of the dangers. Secondly, when peanuts are not allowed, the child may be lulled into a false sense of security, as peanut foods may inadvertently be brought in and shared with the child,” Dr. Cherkaoui said.

“The most significant finding of this study is the discovery that most moderate and severe accidental exposures are managed inappropriately by caregivers and physicians.”