Disease‐specific health‐related quality of life instruments for IgE‐mediated food allergy

Abstract

This is one of seven interlinked systematic reviews undertaken on behalf of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology as part of their Guidelines for Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis, which focuses on instruments developed for IgE-mediated food allergy. Disease-specific questionnaires are significantly more sensitive than generic ones in measuring the response to interventions or future treatments, as well as estimating the general burden of food allergy. The aim of this systematic review was therefore to identify which disease-specific, validated instruments can be employed to enable assessment of the impact of, and investigations and interventions for, IgE-mediated food allergy on health-related quality of life (HRQL). Using a sensitive search strategy, we searched seven electronic bibliographic databases to identify disease-specific quality of life (QOL) tools relating to IgE-mediated food allergy. From the 17 eligible studies, we identified seven disease-specific HRQL instruments, which were then subjected to detailed quality appraisal. This revealed that these instruments have undergone formal development and validation processes, and have robust psychometric properties, and therefore provide a robust means of establishing the impact of food allergy on QOL. Suitable instruments are now available for use in children, adolescents, parents/caregivers, and adults. Further work must continue to develop a clinical minimal important difference for food allergy and for making these instruments available in a wider range of European languages.The term 'food allergy' refers to the subgroup of foodtriggered reactions in which immunologic mechanisms have been implicated, whether immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated, non-IgE-mediated, or involving a combination of IgE-and non-IgE-mediated etiologies (1). This review focuses on food allergy that is likely to have an IgE-mediated etiology.Allergy 69 (2014) 834-844

Differences in Caregiver Food Allergy Quality of Life Between Tertiary Care, Specialty Clinic, and Caregiver-Reported Food Allergic Populations

“…33 This should not be surprising given well-established data that QoL is culturally specific. 12,31,36,37 Most importantly, we provide an index-specific (and food allergy population specific) estimate of clinical significance, which is novel. This index-specific MCID can now be used to further enhance the clinical applications of the FAQL-PB as a cross-sectional patient-reported outcome measure.…”

“…11 This has been noted with both generic pediatric QoL indices and through food allergyespecific QoL indices (in both US and international populations). [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The degree of heterogeneity within the US food allergic population is poorly understood, but there are 2 general populations of food allergic individuals that have been studiedself-selected caregivers reporting a child with food allergy (SS), and caregivers who have children followed at referral centers (RC). Both populations strongly identify themselves as food allergic, live a food allergic lifestyle, and presumably experience the same problems and QoL reductions.…”

Patient‐reported outcome measures for allergy and asthma in children

“…Together with other allergic disorders, such as atopic eczema/dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and food allergy these conditions constitute a considerable burden on the daily lives of many children and their families . In addition, whilst several therapeutic regimens have been developed to manage allergic disorders and asthma, adherence to recommended regimens may also have substantial impact on the day‐to‐day lived experience of children and their parent/caregivers . For example, decisions surrounding the use of adrenaline (epinephrine) in the context of managing anaphylaxis or inhalers for asthma control may have a negative impact on the child or their parents/caregivers .…”

Building Trust: Children Experiences with Food Allergies at Summer Camp

“…For example, these tools can identify differences between subgroups, such as children with multiple food allergies versus those with a single food allergy. However, while several food allergy-specific questionnaires are now available, most still require longitudinal validation [19] [20] [21]. In addition, food allergy-specific questionnaires have not yet been used longitudinally to determine the impact of interventions on HRQL, although it remains one of the major measurement goals for using these instruments.…”