Large proportion of children with food allergies report suffering bullying

Jan 14th – 45% of children with food allergies reported bullying for any reason, which is higher than rates in the general population of children.

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Image: PD

1. 45% of children with food allergies reported bullying for any reason, which is higher than rates in the general population of children. 

2. Bullying in children with food allergies is associated with a poorer quality of life and social vulnerability.

Bullying is common and is associated with both decreased quality of life and increased distress in children with food allergies. There appears to be an increased likelihood that food-allergic children are being bullied; as such, it is important that physicians caring for these children screen for bullying. Additionally, when diagnosing food allergies, physicians might consider advising parents about potential bullying of their children. Doing so may help identify issues earlier and help to better understand the social impacts of their patients’ presenting illness.

Please click to read study in Pediatrics

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Image: PD

1. 45% of children with food allergies reported bullying for any reason, which is higher than rates in the general population of children. 

2. Bullying in children with food allergies is associated with a poorer quality of life and social vulnerability.

Primer: Food allergies occur in up to 8% of children and can have a significant social impact on these children. These effects include reduced quality of life, increased distress, and social isolation, often secondary to bullying and harassment from their peers. Bullying in itself is associated with an increased suicide risk in bullied children. Furthermore, children with food allergies may be threatened by the allergen, leading to a potentially fatal allergic reaction. A previous study looked at parental reports of bullying in children with food allergies. This study, however, also took into account the childrens’ reports to evaluate the extent, methods, and correlates of bullying.

For further reading, please see the following studies:

1. Lieberman JA, Weiss C, Furlong TJ, et al. Bullying among pediatric patients with food allergy. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2010;105(4):282–286.
2. Oppenheimer J, Bender B. The impact of food allergy and bullying. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2010;105(6):410–411.

This [qualitative cohort] study: In 2011, 251 families of food-allergic children were recruited during their visit to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Children were included in the study if they were between 8 and 17 years of age and had an established diagnosis of food allergy. Several validated pediatric questionnaires were used to assess the child’s report of bullying, the parent’s report of bullying, health-related quality of life, subjective distress and post-traumatic stress, and parental quality of life.

Interesting findings from these questionnaires are as follows:

• 45% of children and 36% of their parents reported that the child had been bullied for any reason, while 32% of children and 25% of parents identified the bullying as being due to the food allergy;
• 87% of children told someone about the bullying (i.e., parents or friend);
• Bullying was associated with higher anxiety and decreased quality of life in children;
• Bullying included threats with foods and, in most cases, was done by classmates at school; and
• Parents knew about the bullying in 52% of cases and these parents had a better quality of life while their children had less distress and improved social functioning.

In sum: Bullying is common and is associated with both decreased quality of life and increased distress in children with food allergies. There appears to be an increased likelihood that food-allergic children are being bullied; as such, it is important that physicians caring for these children screen for bullying. Additionally, when diagnosing food allergies, physicians might consider advising parents about potential bullying of their children. Doing so may help identify issues earlier and help to better understand the social impacts of their patients’ presenting illness.

Please click to read study in Pediatrics

By [GL] and [AC]

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Gilbert Lam: Gilbert is a 3rd year M.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Andrew Cheung: Andrew is currently a 4th year M.D. candidate at the University of Ottawa in Canada.

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