title: Assessment of children's nutritional attitudes before oral food challenges to identify patients at risk of food reintroduction failure: a prospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inappropriate dietary eliminations may impair quality of life, affect children's growth and unnecessarily impact on healthcare costs. Previous retrospective studies reported that around 25% of children continue a food-avoidance diet despite a negative oral food challenge (OFC). A definite pattern has not been found yet for patients not reintroducing the food. This study aimed to examine the role of child's nutritional attitudes and maternal anxiety in reintroducing food after a negative OFC.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study was conducted involving 81 mothers of children with IgE-mediated food allergy. They completed a survey on nutritional behaviour and attitudes and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory on the day of OFC and 6 months later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 11.1% of children never or rarely ate the food after a negative OFC. Consumption of the reintroduced food is positively correlated to child's interest in tasting new foods before and after OFC and to changes in child's nutritional habits after OFC. It is negatively correlated to monotony of the diet after OFC. No correlations were found with other participants' characteristics or maternal anxiety. State anxiety significantly decreased after the OFC. A correlation was found between trait and state anxiety and the degree of change in nutritional habits after OFC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evaluating child's approach towards food before the OFC is a promising approach to identify patients at risk of food reintroduction failure. Furthermore, it underlined the importance of reassessing food consumption in all patients after a negative OFC and supporting patients in the reintroduction of food.
authors.affiliation: Food Allergy Referral Centre for Diagnosis and Treatment, Veneto Region, Department of Women and Child Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Polloni
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferruzza
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ronconi
authors.affiliation: Food Allergy Referral Centre for Diagnosis and Treatment, Veneto Region, Department of Women and Child Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toniolo
authors.affiliation: Food Allergy Referral Centre for Diagnosis and Treatment, Veneto Region, Department of Women and Child Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lazzarotto
authors.affiliation: Food Allergy Referral Centre for Diagnosis and Treatment, Veneto Region, Department of Women and Child Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bonaguro
authors.affiliation: Food Allergy Referral Centre for Diagnosis and Treatment, Veneto Region, Department of Women and Child Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Celegato
authors.affiliation: Food Allergy Referral Centre for Diagnosis and Treatment, Veneto Region, Department of Women and Child Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muraro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D001007:Anxiety; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000009:adverse effects; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: diet; food allergy; food avoidance; maternal anxiety; oral food challenge