Sicherer S H, Noone S A, Muñoz-Furlong A
Department of Pediatrics, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2001 Dec;87(6):461-4. doi: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)62258-2.
Food allergy affects >6% of children, but the impact of this disease on health-related quality of life has not been well studied.
Parental perceptions of physical and psychosocial functioning were measured with the Children's Health Questionnaire (CHQ-PF50). This tool and an additional allergy-related questionnaire were sent to 400 members of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network with children aged 5 to 18, an age group on which the tool has been validated.
Surveys were completed by 253 parents (63%). The mean age of the food-allergic children was 10.8 years (range, 5 to 18 yrs); 59% were male. Sixty-eight percent were allergic to one or two foods, the remainder to more than two foods. Concomitant chronic atopic diseases included: asthma with atopic dermatitis (33%), atopic dermatitis alone (13%), asthma alone (33%), and 21% had neither asthma nor atopic dermatitis. In comparison to previously established norms, the families scored significantly lower (more than 10 scale score points lower and P < 0.0001) for general health perception (GH), emotional impact on the parent (PE), and limitation on family activities (FA). Associated atopic disease, influenced primarily by those with both asthma and atopic dermatitis, accounted for a significant reduction in the GH scale (analysis of variance, P = 0.0001), but not for measures of PE and FA. Within the study group, food-allergic individuals with several (more than two) food allergies had significantly lower (P < 0.05) scores for 7 of 12 scales compared with individuals with few (one or two) food allergies. However, those with one or two food allergies scored significantly lower (P < 0.0001) than established norms on scales for GH, PE, and FA.
Childhood food allergy has a significant impact on GH, PE, and FA. Factors that influence reductions in these scales include associated atopic disease and the number of foods being avoided.
食物过敏影响超过6%的儿童，但这种疾病对健康相关生活质量的影响尚未得到充分研究。
采用儿童健康问卷（CHQ-PF50）测量家长对身体和心理社会功能的认知。该工具及一份额外的过敏相关问卷被发送给食物过敏与过敏反应网络的400名成员，其孩子年龄在5至18岁之间，该工具已在这个年龄组得到验证。
253名家长（63%）完成了调查。食物过敏儿童的平均年龄为10.8岁（范围为5至18岁）；59%为男性。68%对一两种食物过敏，其余对两种以上食物过敏。并存的慢性特应性疾病包括：哮喘合并特应性皮炎（33%）、单独的特应性皮炎（13%）、单独的哮喘（33%），21%既无哮喘也无特应性皮炎。与先前确立的标准相比，这些家庭在总体健康认知（GH）、对家长的情绪影响（PE）以及家庭活动受限（FA）方面得分显著更低（量表得分低超过10分且P<0.0001）。相关的特应性疾病，主要受同时患有哮喘和特应性皮炎的儿童影响，导致GH量表得分显著降低（方差分析，P = 0.0001），但对PE和FA指标没有影响。在研究组内，对几种（两种以上）食物过敏的食物过敏个体与对少数（一两种）食物过敏的个体相比，在12个量表中的7个量表上得分显著更低（P<0.05）。然而，对一两种食物过敏的个体在GH、PE和FA量表上的得分比既定标准显著更低（P<0.0001）。
儿童食物过敏对GH、PE和FA有显著影响。影响这些量表得分降低的因素包括相关的特应性疾病以及需避免的食物数量。
