Quality of life in food allergy:valid scales for children and adults

Purpose of reviewThe purpose of this review is to give an overview of how health-related quality of life (HRQL) can be measured in food allergy and to explore recent findings on how food allergy might impact HRQL.Recent findingsIn addition to the more familiar burdens of having a food allergy, the psychosocial impact of food allergy and information gaps concerning food allergy have received much attention in the recent literature. Recently, reliable and valid disease-specific HRQL questionnaires have become available to measure the impact of food allergy on HRQL in food allergic patients of all ages.SummaryAssessment of HRQL could be used by clinicians to get insight into the specific problems patients have to face. In addition, HRQL measurements may be used to measure the effects of an intervention on the patient's quality of life. Finally, HRQL is the only available measure reflecting the ongoing severity of food allergy, as no objective disease parameters are available.