Revista de Nutrición y Dietética

Abstracto

A Pilot Study on the Perceived Effects of Childhood Food Allergies on Support and Care Requirements for Mental Health

Jennifer Parker

Choosing what and where to eat can be difficult for the 6% to 8% of Canadian children who have a food allergy, and in the event of an unintentional exposure, it can even be fatal. People with food allergies are recommended to avoid all known allergens and to always carry an epinephrine auto injector (EAI) in case of anaphylaxis due to the lack of curative treatments. These precautions put a heavy burden on patients and their families even though they are often effective in reducing acute symptoms and treating major responses.

According to research, kids and teenagers with food allergies typically experience poorer life satisfaction and more psychological suffering than their peers without food allergies. The effect of food allergy on health-related quality of life appears to vary with age in children with food allergies between the ages of 0 and 17 years. Adolescents (aged 13–17) are bullied more frequently than school-aged children (aged 5–12) are only because they have a food allergy, according to quantitative reports from families with school-aged children who have food allergies and who are overly protective. Peer bullying is widespread in both age groups, although being more common among teens. 8 Unsurprisingly, controlling a child's food allergy seems to be a strain for parents as well.

At the same time, allergists and allergy fellow’s battle about how to best advice patients on the hazards associated with food allergies. It is also uncertain how medical personnel should handle psychological difficulties in their patients. In order to do this, we conducted a qualitative pilot study to gauge their perspectives of the needs and difficulties connected to food allergy-associated mental health for families with allergic children.