Open AccessHealth‐related quality of life worsens by school age amongst children with food allergy
Author(s) -
Thörnqvist Victoria,
Middelveld Roelinde,
Wai Hay Mar,
Ballardini Natalia,
Nilsson Evalill,
Strömquist Jennie,
Ahlstedt Staffan,
Nilsson Lennart Jan,
Protudjer Jennifer L. P.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
clinical and translational allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.979
H-Index - 37
ISSN - 2045-7022
DOI - 10.1186/s13601-019-0244-0
Subject(s) - medicine , food allergy , allergy , quality of life (healthcare) , pediatrics , disease , concomitant , population , socioeconomic status , environmental health , immunology , nursing
Background Food allergy is negatively associated with health‐related quality of life (HRQL). Although differences exist between parents and children, less is known about age‐specific differences amongst children. As such, we aimed to identify if age, as well as other factors, are associated with food allergy‐specific HRQL in an objectively defined population of children. Methods Overall, 63 children (boys: n = 36; 57.1%) with specialist‐diagnosed food allergy to 1 + foods were included. Parents/guardians completed the Swedish version of a disease‐specific questionnaire designed to assess overall‐ and domain‐specific HRQL. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were used. Results The most common food allergy was hen's egg (n = 40/63; 63.5%). Most children had more than one food allergy (n = 48; 76.2%). Nearly all had experienced mild symptoms (e.g. skin; n = 56/63; 94.9%), and more than half had severe symptoms (e.g. respiratory; 39/63; 66.1%). Compared to young children (0–5 years), older children (6–12 years) had worse HRQL (e.g. overall HRQL: B = 0.60; 95% CI 0.05–1.16; p < 0.04.). Similarly, multiple food allergies, and severe symptoms were significantly associated with worse HRQL (all p < 0.05) even in models adjusted for concomitant allergic disease. No associations were found for gender or socioeconomic status. Conclusion Older children and those with severe food allergy have worse HRQL.