Quality of life in childhood, adolescence and adult food allergy: Patient and parent perspectives

Background Studies of children with food allergy typically only include the mother and have not investigated the relationship between the amount of allergen needed to elicit a clinical reaction (threshold) and health-related quality of life (HRQL). Our aims were (i) to compare self-reported and parent-reported HRQL in different age groups, (ii) to evaluate the impact of severity of allergic reaction and threshold on HRQL, and (iii) to investigate factors associated with patient-reported and parent-reported HRQL. Methods Age-appropriate Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaires (FAQLQ) were completed by 73 children, 49 adolescents and 29 adults with peanut, hazelnut or egg allergy. Parents (197 mothers, 120 fathers) assessed their child's HRQL using the FAQLQ-Parent form. Clinical data and threshold values were obtained from a hospital database. Significant factors for HRQL were investigated using univariate and multivariate regression. Results Female patients reported greater impact of food allergy on HRQL than males did. Egg and hazelnut thresholds did not affect HRQL, but lower peanut threshold was associated with worse HRQL. Both parents scored their child's HRQL better than the child's own assessment, but whereas mother-reported HRQL was significantly affected by limitations in the child's social life, father-reported HRQL was affected by limitations in the family's social life. Severity of allergic reaction did not contribute significantly to HRQL. Conclusion The risk of accidental allergen ingestion and limitations in social life are associated with worse HRQL. Fathers provide a unique perspective and should have a greater opportunity to contribute to food allergy research.