Organic Food Consumption May Protect Against Allergic Sensitization

Frequent consumption of organic foods may provide some protection against allergic sensitization at school age, new findings suggest, although further research may be warranted to look into the underlying mechanisms for this association.1

Such findings were drawn from a recent analysis on the impact of nutrition on allergic sensitization among children. The investigators, led by Maëlys Pernin-Schneider of the Université Paris Cité, highlighted prior data suggesting a lack of significant connection between early organic food consumption and atopic dermatitis/wheeze.2

Other data had suggested that the strict consumption of organic dairy products was shown to be protective against atopic dermatitis within the initial 2 years of one’s life. The strict consumption of organic fruits, meat, vegetables, and eggs was shown not to be linked to allergic morbidity.

“As part of the PARIS (Pollution and asthma risk: An infant study) birth cohort, the aims of this study were to: (i) identify dietary patterns based on conventional and organic food consumption at school age and (ii) investigate the associations between these patterns and respiratory/allergic morbidity,” the team wrote.1

Background and Study Design

The investigators’ PARIS birth cohort study was an investigation that was population-based, with the team recruiting 3,840 healthy, term newborns from 5 maternity hospitals located within Paris between February 2003 - June 2006. The trial participants were prospectively monitored over time through the use of regularly-provided, self-administered questionnaires designed to evaluate their environmental factors as well as health and lifestyle.

Additionally, periodic health check-ups were conducted by the research team. The team’s assessment was aimed specifically at children who took part in a health check-up at 8 years of age and whose caregivers filled out a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) within the same timeframe.

For the purposes of documenting allergic and respiratory conditions, the investigative team provided standardized questionnaires adapted from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. They were given to subjects alongside serum-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) testing.

Habits related to diet were done through the aforementioned FFQ. The sections of this questionnaire were split into 2 parts: one covering overall consumption of food products and the other specifically addressing intake of organic food. The investigators identified participants’ dietary patterns through the use of a cluster analysis, based upon the reported frequency of 30 predetermined food products (labeled as either organic or conventional) and an additional 19 items which were organic-specific.

Any connection between dietary habits and respiratory or allergic conditions—including such conditions as atopic dermatitis, rhinitis, asthma, and allergen sensitization—were assessed by the research team through multivariable logistic regression models. Such models were then adjusted by the team for potential confounding variables.

Variables included family socioeconomic status (SES) and adherence to the Mediterranean diet as an indicator of an overall balance in subjects’ diets. The team of researchers also looked at such information as the child’s parental history of allergic conditions, parental occupations, sex, number of older siblings, and maternal smoking during pregnancy.

Major Findings

The investigators looked at 1,258 children in total, finding that there were 3 distinct dietary patterns observed in the analysis. These 3 categories were differentiated mainly by their frequency of intake of organic foods.

The research team noted that ‘Group G0’ (51% of children) was found to have lower levels of organic food intake. The G1 and G2 groups (28% and 21%, respectively) were noted by the team as having moderate levels and high levels of organic food consumption, respectively.

Despite the fact that the investigators could not identify significant links between participants’ dietary patterns and their asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhinitis, or food allergen sensitization prevalence, it was reported that children in the G2 group had a substantially reduced likelihood of sensitization to any allergen compared to those placed in in G0 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40–0.91).

Such a reduction in likelihood of allergen sensitization was particularly evident, the team found, for sensitization to inhalant allergens (aOR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.42–0.99).

“This study provides new knowledge by showing that, for the PARIS cohort, frequent consumption of organic foods was associated with a reduced likelihood of allergic sensitisation, particularly to inhalant allergens, after controlling for numerous potential confounders such as dietary balance and family SES,” they concluded.1

References

1. Pernin-Schneider, M., Amazouz, H., Lezmi, G., Bourgoin-Heck, M., Just, J., Momas, I. and Rancière, F. (2025), Organic Food Consumption Might Protect Against Sensitisation to Inhalant Allergens at School Age: The PARIS Cohort. Allergy. https://doi.org/10.1111/all.16433.
2. Pernin-Schneider, M., Amazouz, H., Lezmi, G., Bourgoin-Heck, M., Just, J., Momas, I. and Rancière, F. (2025), Organic Food Consumption Might Protect Against Sensitisation to Inhalant Allergens at School Age: The PARIS Cohort. Allergy. https://doi.org/10.1111/all.16433.