The number of children with peanut allergies has increased over the years, and researchers may have found a reason for that: air pollution.
What's happening?
According to Medical Xpress, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the University of Melbourne monitored 5,276 children in Melbourne from when they were one year old. They followed up with them at ages four, six, and 10, and estimated the amount of toxic gases at each of their addresses at each follow-up.
The researchers found that "higher levels of air pollution was a risk factor for the development and persistence of peanut allergies. And this was despite Melbourne having generally good air quality compared to our international counterparts," per Medical Xpress.
The study, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, is the first to study the link between air pollution and food allergies.
Why is air pollution contributing to peanut allergies concerning?
In Australia, one in 10 children develop food allergies in the first year of their life. According to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, about 1.4-4.5% of children in the U.S. had a peanut allergy as of 2019.
It's also hard for families dealing with the allergy. For example, Eleanor Jenkin's daughter, Mae, is living with peanut, dairy, and egg allergies. She was diagnosed at eight months old when she broke out in hives, reported Medical Xpress.
Five years ago, the doctors at The Royal Children's Hospital were checking her tolerance of eggs to try to add them back into her diet, but she went into anaphylactic shock when eating cupcakes. It started with vomiting, and then she went unconscious.
This was Mae's first episode, and now her mom always carries an EpiPen with her, and Mae has to watch what she eats at all times.
Jenkin said, "If higher levels of air pollution are impacting the prevalence and persistence, then that's an important discovery for families."
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What's being done about air pollution?
While there isn't one thing being done to tackle air pollution, there are lots of things that, with momentum, will help improve air quality.
For instance, more people are switching to electric vehicles. Families are also installing solar panels or opting in for community solar. All of these help reduce the amount of polluting gases emitted into the atmosphere.
Additionally, carbon removal company Equatic developed a technology that can remove carbon dioxide from the air 99,000 times faster than the ocean can remove it.
Air pollution reduction policies could also help. According to Medical Xpress, Murdoch Children's Research Institute Associate Professor Rachel Peters believes policies could reduce the likelihood of children becoming allergic to peanuts.
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