Features of the quality of life in children with food allergy

Abstract

Introduction. Food allergy (FA) being a clinically heterogeneous condition, the only treatment for which is a strong elimination diet. The need to exclude one or more foods from the diet, constant monitoring of the diet, anxiety and excitement about the exacerbation of allergic symptoms lead to a significant decrease in the quality of life. Materials and methods. The study included thirty eight 2-7 year children patients with various clinical manifestations of FA (atopic dermatitis, allergic and alimentary colitis, food-borne dermatitis). The comparison group consisted of twenty seven healthy children matched by age. The quality of life in all children was assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life - PedsQLTM4.0 questionnaire. Results. All FA children patients showed a significant decrease in the quality of life in terms of such indicators as emotional functioning (60.2 in the main group and 83.5 in the comparison group), social functioning (77.9 in the main group and 88.1 in the comparison group), role functioning or kindergarten functioning (FDS) (77.5 in the main group and 84.9 in the comparison group) and psycho-social health (69.3 in the main group and 85.5 in the comparison group). The overall score in assessing the quality of life is significantly lower in the group of FA children (71 in the main group and 87 in the comparison group). Conclusion. To improve the quality of life of children with FA, there is needed a comprehensive individual approach including both psychological support for the child and his family members, and the solution of issues with the provision of «safe» food in children’s educational institutions.