HealthNuts
Synopsis
The HealthNuts study of 5,300 children is the world’s first comprehensive population-based study of food allergy with an objective measurement of true food allergy. The study will enable researchers to better understand the natural history of allergic disorders including food allergy, asthma, eczema and hay fever and the risk factors for developing these conditions in the first six years of life. The study will have important implications for clinical guidelines and public health policy.
Participants who were food allergic at wave 1 food challenge or who indicated the presence of new food allergy symptoms since wave 1 were invited to participate in the clinical sub-sample, which included food challenge assessments (study and substudy waves included in table below)
Summary
| Study name | HealthNuts |
| Current principal investigator/s | Rachel Peters |
| Postal address | HealthNuts Study, Gastro and Food Allergy, MCRI, Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052 |
| Phone | +613 8341 6266 |
| health.nuts@mcri.edu.au | |
| Primary Institution | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
| Collaborating Institution/s |
The Royal Children’s Hospital; The University of Melbourne |
| Major funding sources |
National Health and Medical Research Council |
| Study website | mcri.edu.au/research/projects/healthnuts |
| Key reference | Osborne, N.J., Koplin, J.J., Martin, P.E., Gurrin, L.C., Thiele, L., Tang, M.L., Ponsonby, A-L., Dharmage, S.C. and Allen, K.J., for HealthNuts Study Investigators. (2010). The HealthNuts population-based study of paediatric food allergy: validity, safety and acceptability. Clin Exp Allergy, 40(10): 1516-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2010.03562.x |
| Are data available to others outside study team? | Yes, on request, with provision of an analysis plan and approval from investigator group. |
| Study focus | Understanding the natural history of allergic disorders including food allergy, asthma, eczema and hay fever. |
| Sampling frame | 12-month-old infants presenting for routine scheduled vaccination at local government-led immunisation clinics across Melbourne, Australia. |
| Year commenced | 2007 |
| Commencement sample | 5300 |
| Annual attrition rate | 19% at age 4 years |
| Intergenerational? | No |
| Imaging | No |
| Linkage | School Entrant Health Questionnaire Medicare VPDC Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) |
| Biosamples? | Blood Faeces Saliva Newborn Screening (Guthrie) card |
| Ethics approval | This project only (Specific consent) Future research related to this project (Extended consent) Any future research (Unspecified consent) |
Waves
| Wave | Year | Age (mean, range) | Eligible sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2007 – 2010 | 1 year (12.6 months) |
5300 (whole cohort) |
| 2a | 2011 – 2014 | 4 years |
4289 (81.3%) (whole cohort) |
| 2b | 2011-2014 | 4 years |
|
| 3a | 2013-2016 | 6 years |
To be determined (ongoing) (whole cohort) |
| 3b | 2013-2016 | 6 years |
To be determined (ongoing) (whole cohort) |
| 4a | 2016-2020 | 10 years |
|
| 4b | 2016-2020 | 10 years |
|
| 5 | 2022-ongoing | 15 years |
In progress |
Substudy COVID Immune
| Wave | Year | Age (mean, range) | Eligible sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substudy: COVID Immune (Baseline) | 2020 | 10-14 years |
|
| Substudy; COVID Immune (Follow-up) | 2022-ongoing | 11-15 years |
In progress |