Open AccessParental concerns of allergy or hypersensitivity and the infant’s diet
Author(s) -
Holmberg Fagerlund Bettina,
Helseth Sølvi,
Andersen Lene Frost,
Småstuen Milada Cvancarova,
Glavin Kari
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nursing open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.55
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2054-1058
DOI - 10.1002/nop2.195
Subject(s) - medicine , food hypersensitivity , food allergy , allergy , pediatrics , family medicine , environmental health , immunology
Aim To investigate a possible association between children's current diet and parents’ reported avoidance of appropriate foods in the child's diet at the age of 10 months, due to fears of allergic or hypersensitivity reactions. Design A cross‐sectional study. Methods In 10 randomly selected municipalities willing to participate, 686 children represented by their parents visiting the child health centre were enrolled in the study. From January 2015–January 2017, 440 (64%) parents completed a semi‐quantitative food frequency questionnaire concerning their child. Results Thirty‐four percent of parents reported that they avoided introducing some food items due to fears of allergy or hypersensitivity in their child. A statistically significant relationship emerged between this reporting and parents wanting more information about food for infants and toddlers. However, the reported fear was not associated with dietary restrictions regarding actual feeding of the child.