Investor Presentaiton

Preventing peanut allergies in babies One example of the important work supported by the WACRF is a grant awarded to Associate Professor Debra Palmer to conduct research to determine the ideal amount of peanuts in breastfeeding mothers' diets to prevent peanut allergies in their babies. Australia has a relatively high prevalence of peanut allergy. Almost 3 per cent of children aged one year have a peanut allergy. Peanut allergies place individuals and their families under enormous stress and have been shown to decrease quality of life associated with lifestyle restrictions. Most children do not 'grow out' of a peanut allergy and there is no cure. As such research is focusing on prevention. Findings from A/Prof. Palmer's recent pilot study involving 109 women and their babies, suggests that a mother's diet high in peanuts during breastfeeding may reduce the chances of her baby developing a peanut allergy. To develop practice guidelines concerning maternal diet during breastfeeding that may help reduce the risk of infants developing a peanut allergy, the study will be repeated with an increased sample of women (400) and their babies. Participating mothers will be randomly put into either a high peanut (60 peanuts per week), or a low peanut (maximum 20 peanuts per week) group, for 6 months from the birth of their baby, with the final allergy testing at 12 months. This research has been co-designed with consumers (people with lived experiences of allergies or caring for a child with allergies), who will continue to be involved in all stages of the research. A/Prof. Palmer believes this study will contribute to the discovery of a simple, effective prevention strategy for peanut allergy, which in turn will improve quality of life, and reduce the financial burden for Western Australian children, their families, and the medical sector. < 35 > Contents • About us Significant issues ⚫Report on operations Agency performance Operational disclosures • Key performance indicators • Financial disclosures and compliance • Appendix

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