I found this interesting – from IVillage Total Health saying that preemie and underweight babies are not prone to allergies. Wish they would find out WHAT causes the allergies!!!
Preemie, Underweight Babies Not Prone to Allergies
June 7 (iVillage Total Health) — Peanut and other food allergies are no more common in premature and low-birth weight babies than other children, according to a new Canadian study.
A food allergy is a potentially fatal response by the immune system to a particular food or food component. If an allergic person consumes a problem food, the immune system reacts with the release of histamines and other chemicals that trigger symptoms ranging from mild to severe itching, hives and swelling. Food allergies are potentially life-threatening conditions that can cause difficulty breathing and a dangerous drop in blood pressure.
Although food allergies affect people of all ages, they are most common in toddlers and infants. Food allergies occur in about 1 to 2 percent of adults and 3 to 8 percent of children, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Researchers from the University of Manitoba in Canada studied 13,980 children and found that only 592 of them had food allergies. There was no statistically significant difference in risk of food allergies between children born prematurely or with low birth weights and those of normal weight and gestational development. The children were part of the 1995 Manitoba Birth Cohort study.
The researchers had sought to determine if the premature and low birth weight infants were more susceptible to food allergies because their digestive systems were immature and allowed foods to be absorbed more quickly. However, they said the study suggests that giving children highly allergenic foods early in life may actually help prevent development of allergies.
Results of the study were published in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Copyright 2007 iVillage Total Health.
Publish Date: June 07, 2007
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