Can food allergy in children be prevented?

While it is known that food allergy cases are on the rise, the exact number is hard to ascertain due to the various diagnostic methods. Typically cases are higher in high-income countries, but some urbanized low- and middle-income countries have also observed a rise in those numbers. With this come symptoms that may affect the lives of the allergic child and their family.

Food allergies may be attributed to genetics, however, there are other factors being theorized to also contribute to this, like exposure to microbes in early life, the role of vitamin D, bacterial metabolites, and more. But with these hypotheses, also come possible strides when it comes to recommendations for prevention.

This lecture from Prof. Hania Szajewska details the current understanding in the field of allergy prevention research, as well as which points need to be refined in order to optimize the strategies being implored to prevent the further rise in food allergy occurrence.