Food allergy in adolescents: validation of the food allergy independent measure and the EuroPrevall food allergy quality of life questionnaire into Spanish.

BACKGROUND

Different questionnaires have been developed globally to assess and compare the impact of food allergy on the quality of life. The aim of this study was to validate a Spanish translation of the Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM) and the EuroPrevall Food Allergy-Quality of Life Questionnaire-Teenage Form (FAQLQ-TF) for adolescents aged 13-17 years.

METHODS

Sixty adolescents diagnosed with immunoglobulin E-mediated allergy to food completed the questionnaires. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess internal consistency; correlation between FAQLQ-TF and FAIM was used to test construct validity. The discriminant validity was evaluated by comparison with the number of offending foods, the perceived impact on social life, the diagnosis of anaphylaxis, and the previous prescription of adrenaline auto--injectors (AAI).

RESULTS

No question fulfilled criteria to be removed from the questionnaire. For FAIM, Cronbach's alpha = 0.763, and for the four domains of FAQLQ-TF, Cronbach's alpha = 0.797-0.847. A significant correlation existed between FAQLQ-TF and FAIM, and of both of them with anaphylaxis and the prescription of AAI (P ˂ 0.05 for all comparisons).

CONCLUSIONS

This Spanish translation of FAIM and FAQLQ-TF for adolescents had good internal consistency and construct validity as well as ability to discriminate patients according to the number of foods to avoid, impact on social life, diagnosis of anaphylaxis, and AAI prescription.