Generic Health-Related Quality of Life of Children With Severe Peanut or Tree Nut Allergy

Aim Food allergies may decrease health-related quality of life. We assessed health-related quality of life in Finnish children at risk of a severe peanut or tree nut allergy and their parents. Methods Study included children aged 3-15 years referred to Tampere University Hospital for suspected severe nut allergy. Eligibility criteria included a history of anaphylaxis and/or molecular immunology testing referring for severe peanut and/or tree nut allergy. Health-related quality of life was assessed with generic questionnaires 15D for adults, 16D for teenagers or 17D for children, with scores compared with age group-matched population references. Results A total of 101 children (mean age 7.7 +/- 2.9 years) and parent pairs were enrolled. The mean 16D score for 11 teenagers aged 12-15 years and mean 15D score for 101 parents was similar to reference populations; parental distress was borderline statistically worse (0.890 vs. 0.932, p = 0.013). The mean 17D score for 90 children aged 3-11 years was significantly higher (0.959 vs. 0.938) than in references (p < 0.01). Conclusion Children with a suspected severe peanut or tree nut allergy had a comparable health-related quality of life to the reference population. Distress among their parents seemed to be increased, warranting more focus on parental counselling.