Health-related quality of life of food allergic patients: comparison with the general population and other diseases

• Published in: Allergy (Copenhagen) Vol. 65; no. 2; pp. 238 - 244
• Main Authors: Flokstra-de Blok, B.M.J, Dubois, A.E.J, Vlieg-Boerstra, B.J, Oude Elberink, J.N.G, Raat, H, DunnGalvin, A, Hourihane, J. O'B, Duiverman, E.J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2010; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adolescence; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Allergic diseases; Asthma; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Children; Chronic illnesses; Comparative studies; Dermatology; Diabetes mellitus; Digestive allergic diseases; EuroPrevall; Female; Food allergies; food allergy; Food hypersensitivity; Food Hypersensitivity - physiopathology; Food Hypersensitivity - psychology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; generic questionnaires; health-related quality of life; Humans; Immunopathology; Inventories; Irritable bowel syndrome; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pain; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Rheumatoid arthritis; Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult; Human; Food allergy; Immunopathology; Immunology; Questionnaire; EuroPrevall; Dermatology; Digestive diseases; generic questionnaires; Comparative study; Health-Related Quality of Life; Food
• ISSN: 0105-4538; 1398-9995
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2009.02121.x

To cite this article: Flokstra-de Blok BMJ, Dubois AEJ, Vlieg-Boerstra BJ, Oude Elberink JNG, Raat H, DunnGalvin A, Hourihane JO'B, Duiverman EJ. Health-related quality of life of food allergic patients: comparison with the general population and other diseases. Allergy 2010; 65: 238-244. To date no studies have compared generic health-related quality of life (HRQL) of food allergic patients from childhood to adulthood with that of the general population or patients with other chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to compare generic HRQL of food allergic patients with the general population and other diseases. Generic HRQL questionnaires (CHQ-CF87 and RAND-36) were completed by 79 children, 74 adolescents and 72 adults with food allergy. The generic HRQL scores were compared with scores from published studies on the general population and patients with asthma, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diabetes mellitus (DM) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Food allergic children and adolescents reported fewer limitations in school work due to behavioural problems (P [less-than or equal to] 0.013), but food allergic adolescents and adults reported more pain (P = 0.020), poorer overall health (P < 0.001), more limitations in social activities (P < 0.001) and less vitality (P = 0.002) than individuals from the general population. Food allergic patients reported poorer generic HRQL than patients with DM, but better generic HRQL than patients with RA, asthma and IBS. HRQL is impaired in food allergic adolescents and adults, compared to the general population, and it is intermediate in magnitude between DM and RA, asthma and IBS. Children show the least impact on generic HRQL from food allergy.