A new study found that caesarean delivery, either with or without labour, or elective or emergency, compared to vaginal birth does not impact on the likelihood of food allergy at 12 months of age. Led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), the study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
Associate Professor Rachel Peters of the Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) said the association between food allergy and mode of delivery remained unclear due to the lack of studies with food challenge outcomes.
The study involved 2045 infants from the HealthNuts study, with data linked to a perinatal database for detailed information on birth factors.
The study found that, of the 30% born by caesarean, 12.7% had a food allergy compared to 13.2% born vaginally.
“We found no meaningful differences in food allergy for infants born by caesarean delivery compared to those born by vaginal delivery,” Associate Professor Peters said. “Additionally, there was no difference in the likelihood of food allergy if the caesarean was performed before or after the onset of labour, or whether it was an emergency or elective caesarean.”
Associate Professor Peters said it was thought a potential link between caesarean birth and allergy could reflect differences in early microbial exposure from the mother’s vagina during delivery.
“The infant immune system undergoes rapid development during the neonatal period,” she said. Caesarean delivery may interfere with the normal development of the immune system, as there is less exposure to the mother’s vagina and gut bacteria, influencing the baby’s own microbiome. “However, this doesn’t appear to play a major role in the development of food allergy.”
Australia has the highest rates of childhood food allergy in the world, with about one in 10 infants and one in 20 children over five years of age having a food allergy.
These findings come as other MCRI-led research found 30% of peanut allergy and 90% of egg allergy resolves naturally by age six.
Associate Professor Peters said the resolution rates were great news for families and were even a little higher than what was previously thought.
The results, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found infants with early-onset and severe eczema and multiple allergies were less likely to outgrow their egg and peanut allergies.
Associate Professor Peters said these infants should be targeted for early intervention trials that evaluate new treatments for food allergy such as oral immunotherapy.
“Prioritising research of these and future interventions for infants less likely to naturally outgrow their allergy would yield the most benefit for healthcare resources and research funding,” she said.
Source: SciTech Daily
