Sharp rise in peanut allergy emerges in study;  strict preventive protections said justified

 The recent Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology had a research paper from the University of Minnesota looking at peanut allergy. By means of a long-term study these scientists found a tripling of peanut allergy in children since 1999.

More than three-quarters of the peanut-allergic children in their study were under the age of 2. Also, 70 percent of the peanut allergy was in boys.

The scientists don’t know what accounts for this dramatic increase. One theory they are considering is low vitamin D levels. Remember, the population studied was in Minnesota. The researchers recommend active steps to create peanut-free environments, such as peanut bans on airplanes, peanut-free sections at baseball parks and “school safe” lunch programs.

They feel such severe measures are justifiable since peanut allergy reactions tend to be severe and even potentially life-threatening.