Peanut allergy in children: relationships to health-related quality of life, anxiety, and parental stress

Peanut allergy prevalence appears to be increasing in the pediatric population and pediatricians need to be aware how it may affect children's psychological functioning. This study examined relationships between health-related quality of life, child anxiety, and parental stress in children with peanut allergy. A total of 51 families completed questionnaires regarding child anxiety, parenting stress, and quality of life. Child anxiety and parenting stress were found to significantly predict parent proxy report of their child's health-related quality of life. Child anxiety, parenting stress, length of diagnosis, and experiencing an epinephrine shot predicted self-report of health-related quality of life. Although many children with peanut allergy function well, a certain subset of children and families appear to experience high levels of parenting stress and high levels of child anxiety that can affect health-related quality of life and these children may require referrals for mental health treatment.