The impact of food allergy on the daily activities of children and their families.
BACKGROUND
Food allergy affects a significant number of children, and its management requires considerable time and vigilance.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the impact of food allergy on the daily activities of food allergic children and their families.


METHODS
Caregivers of food allergic children from a university-based allergy practice completed a questionnaire that evaluated their perception of the impact of their child's food allergy on family activities.


RESULTS
Of the 87 families who completed the study, more than 60% of caregivers reported that food allergy significantly affected meal preparation and 49% or more indicated that food allergy affected family social activities. Forty-one percent of parents reported a significant impact on their stress levels and 34% reported that food allergy had an impact on school attendance, with 10% choosing to home school their children because of food allergy. The number of food allergies had a significant impact on activity scores, but the existence of comorbid conditions such as asthma and atopic dermatitis did not significantly affect the results.


CONCLUSIONS
Food allergy has a significant effect on activities of families of food allergic children. Further study is needed to determine more detailed effects of food allergy on parent-child interactions and development.
Bollinger
Mary E
ME
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology/Allergy, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. mbolling@peds.umaryland.edu
Dahlquist
Lynnda M
LM
Mudd
Kim
K
Sonntag
Claire
C
Dillinger
Lindsay
L
McKenna
Kristine
K
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life