Abstract
To assess the overall quality of life (QOL) of mothers who have a child with a food allergy, we compared 280 mothers who had a child aged 0 to 6 years with a food allergy (FA group) and 187 mothers who had a child without any food allergies (non-FA group). The Japanese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-26 (WHOQOL26) was used to assess QOL. Approximately 70% of children in the FA group were mainly treated at pediatric institutions that specialized in allergy. Although the mothers in the FA group often felt uncomfortable or stressed during daily life, they knew how to handle their stress and how to rest, and they also had assistance from their husbands in caring for the children. When we compared the results of WHOQOL26 after adjusting for confounding factors, there were no significant differences between mothers in the FA group and those in the non-FA group. If a child with food allergy receives adequate treatment at a pediatric institution specializing in allergies, this can prevent impairment of the overall QOL for the mother by enhancing her ability to respond to restrictions in daily life. Our study suggested that WHOQOL26 may not reflect the influence of food allergy sufficiently. Therefore, it may be necessary to use QOL measures specifically developed for the mothers of children with food allergies in order to assess the influence of such allergies.
