Dietary Intervention during Weaning and Development of Food Allergy: What Is the State of the Art?

Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Feb 27;25(5):2769. doi: 10.3390/ijms25052769.

Abstract

Food allergy (FA) affects approximately 6-8% of children worldwide causing a significant impact on the quality of life of children and their families. In past years, the possible role of weaning in the development of FA has been studied. According to recent studies, this is still controversial and influenced by several factors, such as the type of food, the age at food introduction and family history. In this narrative review, we aimed to collect the most recent evidence about weaning and its role in FA development, organizing the gathered data based on both the type of study and the food. As shown in most of the studies included in this review, early food introduction did not show a potential protective role against FA development, and we conclude that further evidence is needed from future clinical trials.

Keywords: FA in weaning; early introduction; egg allergy; food allergy; weaning.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Allergens
  • Child
  • Food
  • Food Hypersensitivity* / etiology
  • Humans
  • Quality of Life*
  • Weaning

Substances

  • Allergens

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.