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Prenatal and/or Breastfeeding Food Exposures and Risk of Food Allergies in the Offspring

Current Nutrition Reports volume 4, pages 250–258 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

The prevalence of food allergies is increasing in westernized societies. Allergen sensitization has been shown to occur very early in childhood, although the exact timing of sensitization is still under investigation. In recent years, studies have shown that the effect of consumption of peanuts during pregnancy could vary depending on mothers’ allergic status. For example, in high-risk mothers (with a background of atopy/food allergies), peanut consumption likely increases peanut allergy risk in offspring. Although several clinical studies have suggested that breastfeeding reduces food allergy, recent studies have shown no preventive benefit of breastfeeding on food allergy development in such high-risk populations. Also, epigenetic phenomena likely play an important role when evaluating the effect of prenatal exposure and breastfeeding on the risk of food allergies.

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François Graham, Philippe Bégin, Louis Paradis, and Anne Des Roches declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of Pediatrics, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Division, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, 3175 Chemin de la Côte Sainte-Catherine, Local B511, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3T 1C5

    François Graham, Philippe Bégin, Louis Paradis & Anne Des Roches

  2. Department of Medicine, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Division, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    François Graham, Philippe Bégin & Louis Paradis

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  1. François Graham
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  2. Philippe Bégin
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Correspondence to Anne Des Roches.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Prenatal, Neonatal, and Maternal Nutrition

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Graham, F., Bégin, P., Paradis, L. et al. Prenatal and/or Breastfeeding Food Exposures and Risk of Food Allergies in the Offspring. Curr Nutr Rep 4, 250–258 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-015-0126-6

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Keywords

  • Food allergy
  • Breastfeeding
  • Prevention
  • Pregnancy
  • Peanut
  • Milk
  • Egg
  • Atopic dermatitis
  • Tolerance
  • Sensitization
  • Allergen
  • Exposure
  • Introduction
  • Microbiota
  • Epigenetics
  • Epidemiology
  • Risk factors
  • Prenatal