Quality of Life in Food Allergic Children: Results From 174 Quality-Of-Life Patient Questionnaires

Abstract

JM Miller, AC Blackman, HT Wang. Ann Allerg Asthma Immunol . 2020:124(4):379–384 The authors investigated the effect of food allergy on quality of life (FAQoL), factors associated with worse FAQoL, and the differences in FAQoL between adolescents versus younger children with food allergy. Children aged 0 to 17 years with a food allergy were recruited from the Allergy Clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital from June 2017–June 2019. 150 children (aged 0–12) and 24 adolescents (13–17) participated. Patients who had outgrown their food allergy were excluded. Eighty-eight percent of children and 95.8% of adolescents were peanut allergic. Forty-seven percent of children and 79.2% of adolescents had experienced anaphylaxis. Parents completed the food allergy quality of life questionnaire (FAQLQ)-Parent form as a proxy for children 0–12 years. Adolescents, age 13 to 17 years, completed the FAQLQ-teenager form. The FAQLQs use a 7-point Likert scale and higher scores reflect worse QoL. The FAQLQs measure …