Food intolerance in children and psychosocial impact

Avoid stress or success thinking.

That is the kind of information that sells and is fashionable.

But, what happens to people who do not have it so easy because they carry a disease that, although it does not give them daily symptoms and allows them to lead an almost normal life, is potentially lethal?

In the scientific world, the quality of life of those who suffer from various diseases is seldom studied and evaluated satisfactorily. However, the truth is that many health problems have a negative impact on the lifestyle of those who suffer from them and in their immediate environment..

Let's take a closer look at the case of food allergies in children, adolescents and their families.

The vast majority of these are perfectly controlled through medications and strict diets, however until now the problem had not been approached from the perspective of the impact of these allergies on the quality of life not only of children who suffer from them, but also also in their families.

Psychosocial Study Tools in Food Allergies

Until several years ago, the interpretation and comparisons between studies investigating the psychosocial impact in children with food allergies it was limited by the lack of adequate study tools or because questionnaires were given to parents instead of children.

Fortunately, in recent years it has been possible to develop appropriate tools to measure the impact that food allergies and intolerances have on children, adolescents and their families¹. Specifically, a Questionnaire on the Quality of Life and Burden of Parents of children with Food Allergies (Food Allergy QoL Parental Burden questionnaire - FAQL-PB) was validated^two.

And other instruments have also been developed and validated that allowed parents to report the Quality of Life of their children from their own perspective³, and another alike for teenagers.^4.5

By virtue of these new validated tools, it has been possible to determine the degree of psychological impact in two of the main manifestations: depression and anxiety.

The incidence of food allergies has been showing an increasing trend, something that is quite worrying. Unfortunately, it is not only a matter of quantity, but also of quality, since in addition to a greater number of people suffering from these diseases, everything seems to indicate that they are manifesting themselves more and more aggressively..

Proof of the above is that in a period of five years the cases of hospitalization have doubled due to anaphylaxis (a severe, rapidly evolving and very dangerous type of allergy).

Currently, the only way to deal with food allergies is to avoid those food groups identified as causing allergies (allergens) and emergency treatment to counteract complications caused by accidental ingestion of these foods.

Unfortunately, at the moment there is no cure for food allergies, although it must be recognized that thanks to these medical approaches the morbidity (the rate of clinical manifestations of the disease) and the mortality, which today is quite rare.

Psychosocial impact not only on those affected, but also on their families

On the other hand, those who suffer from these allergies, children and adolescents, develop certain typically associated emotional states, especially depression and anxiety. These pictures also affect your immediate surroundings.

Although there have been studies that attempted to measure the emotional impact of allergies on patients and their families, these varied in the chosen sample (especially in age) and in the measurement instruments used, some of which were not validated.

A review has taken a closer look at the psychosocial impact of food allergies, on children and their families⁶, obtaining a more coherent global vision and important conclusions that will be used to carry out studies that offer more light on this problem, often undervalued.

The daily routine of families with members who suffer from food allergies can be quite stressful and upsetting.. Obviously, permanent vigilance is needed to avoid eating foods that can trigger serious allergy symptoms..

This obviously alters the social life and even the family activities of the people involved..

Specifically, it is now known that food allergies have a negative effect on both physical and emotional components of patients, including of course the quality of their school life.

It is also known that there are individuals more affected than others, among these we can mention female patients, those who have suffered a greater number of previous allergic reactions and those who suffer from multiple allergies..

When it comes to families, parents of young children with food allergies are also known to have a greater negative impact when it comes to family activities, while mothers of children with these types of allergies have shown certain disturbances in your psychosocial well-being.

Unfortunately, clear and coherent strategies have yet to be outlined for dealing with the emotional impact of food allergies on children and their families. However, it has been possible to obtain some basic guidelines that can be used by future research..

recommendations

Within these primary recommendations we can mention the following⁶:

• Patients must be reassured. They should be made aware that as long as they follow the recommended precautions, they are unlikely to face accidental reactions and if they do occur, they are usually mild..

• It is also necessary to educate children and their families regarding the relative risk of the disease and working on your communication skills through simple tasks that will help ease the load and boost your self-confidence. These activities may include offering them treats, or allowing them to order food at restaurants..

• It is also important to educate the community, teachers, distant relatives and friends. in the need to maintain a permanent vigilance at the prospect of having to help the child in the face of any However, it is important to emphasize that this should not limit the child in his social life, including his usual routine at home and in the college.

• An effective way to decrease anxiety present in the parents of children with food allergies, it is through the adequate training of the personnel who work in the schools, in such a way that they know the measures and precautions they must take to avoid the triggering of an allergic condition and to deal with this if it is that is presented.

Everything seems to indicate that little by little more importance is being given to the quality of life of children and adolescents who suffer from this condition, as well as that of their families.

Proof of this is that the number of studies that focus on this issue have increased significantly in recent years and it is expected that with the arrival of new validated instruments, it will be possible to draw more reliable conclusions and therefore useful recommendations than at the same time. be adopted by the community, allow patients with food allergies to lead a normal and full life, minimizing the risk of developing conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Bibliography

1. Flokstra-de Blok BM, Dubois AE. Quality of life in food allergy: valid scales for children and adults. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 2009; 9: 214-221.
2. Cohen BL, Noone S, Munoz-Furlong A, Sicherer SH. Development of a questionnaire to measure quality of life in families with a child with food allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2004; 114: 1159-1163.
3. DunnGalvin A, De Blok Flokstra BM, Burks AW, Dubois AE, Hourihane JO. Food allergy QoL questionnaire for children aged 0-12 years: content, construct, and cross-cultural validity. Clin Exp Allergy 2008; 38: 977-986.
4. Flokstra-de Blok BM, DunnGalvin A, Vlieg-Boerstra BJ, Oude Elberink JN, Duiverman EJ, Hourihane JO et al. Development and validation of the self-administered Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire for adolescents. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2008; 122: 139-144. 144.
5. Flokstra-de Blok BM, DunnGalvin A, Vlieg-Boerstra BJ, Oude Elberink JN, Duiverman EJ, Hourihane JO et al. Development and validation of a self-administered Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire for children. Clin Exp Allergy 2009; 39: 127-137.
6. Cummings AJ1, Knibb RC, King RM, Lucas JS. The psychosocial impact of food allergy and food hypersensitivity in children, adolescents and their families: a review. Allergy. 2010 Aug; 65 (8): 933-45.