Engel Melissa L, Warren Christopher M, Herbert Linda J, Pappalardo Andrea A, Ramos Ashley, Gupta Ruchi S
Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Ill; Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research and Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill.
Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research and Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2025 Mar;13(3):630-638.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2024.12.007. Epub 2024 Dec 17.
Food allergy (FA) affects approximately 1 in 12 US children, with prevalence increasing. Aside from considerable health care utilization, accumulating research suggests heightened psychosocial burden among this population.
To characterize FA-related psychosocial burden among a large, nationally representative pediatric sample, and its correlates, including sociodemographic characteristics, comorbid conditions, allergy severity, allergic symptoms, number and type of allergens, and health care utilization.
A survey was administered between October 2015 and September 2016 to a nationally representative sample of US households. Survey constructs included the Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM), which was developed to quantify adverse impacts of living with FA on psychosocial burden (range, 1-7; higher scores indicate greater burden). FAIM responses were analyzed from caregivers reporting current FA in their child (N = 4734). Linear regression models examined associations with sociodemographic and FA characteristics.
The overall estimated mean caregiver-proxy FAIM scores for the US pediatric population were 2.79 (SE, 0.03) for reported FA, 2.96 (SE, 0.04) for convincing FA, and 3.21 (SE, 0.05) for physician-confirmed, convincing FA. Significant differences in caregiver-reported burden (P < .05) were found for sociodemographic (ie, household income, birth country, child age) and clinical (ie, FA severity, physician diagnosis, specific allergens) factors.
Although heterogeneous to a degree, the psychosocial burden of children with FA was substantial irrespective of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. FAIM norms can be used clinically, as well as be leveraged by other economic, epidemiological, and health efforts to understand the public health impact of FA.
食物过敏（FA）影响着约十二分之一的美国儿童，且患病率呈上升趋势。除了大量的医疗保健利用外，越来越多的研究表明，这一人群的心理社会负担有所加重。
描述一个具有全国代表性的大型儿科样本中与食物过敏相关的心理社会负担及其相关因素，包括社会人口学特征、合并症、过敏严重程度、过敏症状、过敏原的数量和类型以及医疗保健利用情况。
在2015年10月至2016年9月期间，对一个具有全国代表性的美国家庭样本进行了一项调查。调查内容包括食物过敏独立测量量表（FAIM），该量表旨在量化患有食物过敏对心理社会负担的不利影响（范围为1至7；分数越高表明负担越重）。对报告其孩子目前患有食物过敏的照料者（N = 4734）的FAIM回答进行了分析。线性回归模型检验了与社会人口学和食物过敏特征的关联。
美国儿科人群中，照料者代理报告的食物过敏的总体估计平均FAIM分数为2.79（标准误，0.03），确诊食物过敏的为2.96（标准误，0.04），医生确诊的确诊食物过敏的为3.21（标准误，0.05）。在社会人口学（即家庭收入、出生国家、孩子年龄）和临床（即食物过敏严重程度、医生诊断、特定过敏原）因素方面，照料者报告的负担存在显著差异（P < .05）。
尽管在一定程度上存在异质性，但无论社会人口学和临床特征如何，食物过敏儿童的心理社会负担都很严重。FAIM规范可用于临床，也可被其他经济、流行病学和健康方面的工作利用，以了解食物过敏对公共卫生的影响。
