Children and adolescents with food allergies appear to fare worse physically, socially, and emotionally, and have poorer overall health-related quality of life (HRQL) than their food-allergy-free peers, a new systematic review suggests.
"Findings from the current review suggest that food allergy has a negative impact on the HRQL of children and teens, particularly older children and those with severe food allergy," the authors write in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. "By comparison, the link between food allergy and psychosocial functioning is less clear."
"Evidence from the qualitative literature suggests that the burden of childhood food allergy largely stems from worries surrounding exposures outside of the home and the social consequences of the condition," they add.
Lead study author Michael A. Golding, MA, a research coordinator at Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and his colleagues searched PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) databases on several days between November 2019 and March 2021 for peer-reviewed articles published in English in any year.
They reviewed articles focused on HRQL, psychological health, or social well-being in children and teens with food allergy from birth through 19 years of age. Food allergy comprised both immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergies and non-IgE-mediated allergies, including food protein-induced enterocolitis, enteropathy, and proctocolitis.
