Mothers of children with food allergies report poorer perceived life status which may be explained by limited career choices

• Published in: Allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology asthma, and clinical immunology, 2021-02, Vol.17 (1), p.12-4, Article 12
• Main Authors: Frykas, Tara Lynn Mary, Golding, Michael, Abrams, Elissa M, Simons, Elinor, Protudjer, Jennifer Lisa Penner
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asthma; Career choice; Career development; Careers; Celiac disease; Children; Children & youth; Comparative analysis; Costs; Diabetes; Disease; Economic impact; Families & family life; Family; Food allergies; Food allergy; Households; Letter to the Editor; Low income groups; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mothers; Opportunity costs; Parents & parenting; Pediatrics; Perceived life status; Questionnaires; Sensitivity analysis; Standard deviation; Tax credits; Visual analogue scale
• ISSN: 1710-1484; 1710-1492; 1710-1492
• DOI: 10.1186/s13223-021-00515-8

Pediatric food allergy is associated with direct, indirect and intangible costs. However, it remains unclear if intangible costs of pediatric food allergy influence parental career choices. Using data from 63 parents whose children had been diagnosed by a pediatric allergist with food allergy, we sought to (a) establish perceived life status of families with a food allergic child, and (b) to describe any career limitations viewed as attributable to food allergy. Compared to responding parents whose children had one to two food allergies, those with three or more food allergies had significantly poorer perceived life status (ß - 0.74; 95%CI - 1.41; - 0.07; p