Quality of life is impaired in shrimp allergic adults and caregivers

Abstract

Rationale: Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) allergies (SA) can result in allergic reactions ranging from life threatening severe anaphylaxis to oral allergy syndrome. SA may pose lifestyle restrictions on daily life and interfere with social relationships and school performance, but this has not been thoroughly investigated. We examined the QoL in SA adults and caregivers.

Methods: A QoL online questionnaire adapted from the validated Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire (FAQLQ) was administered between September 30, 2023-July 15, 2024 to adults and caregivers of at least one SA child. Descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and Fisher exact test were used to determine QoL and desire for treatment in SA subjects. Comparisons were made between SA adults with and without children with SA.

Results: Eighty-six participants completed the survey. Sixty-four (74%) SA adults did not have SA children, and 6 (7%) were SA adults with SA children. Eighty-one percent of SA adults found SA at least moderately to extremely troublesome, and 83% felt other people underestimated problems caused by SA. Seventy percent of SA adults were interested/very interested in a treatment and, of those interested, 47% wanted treatment to enable eating a serving size of shrimp. The small cohort of SA adults with a SA child may have been more likely to have concerns about allergic reaction compared to SA adults without a SA child. [OR, 4.4 (CI, 1-21)].

Conclusions: SA adults report impaired QoL and a desire for treatment to eat a serving size of shrimp. The majority of SA people have impaired QoL.

Keywords: anaphylaxis; food allergy; food allergy (FA); quality of life; seafood; shrimp; shrimp allergy; survey.

Figure 1

(a) Answer from Shrimp Allergic (SA) Adults to the question, “How troublesome do you find it, because of your food allergy, that you much always be alert as to what you are eating?” For each category (SA Child Only, SA Adults with SA Child, SA Adults No SA Child), the number of participants from the cohort that answered this question in the survey is given after the category label. (b) Answer from Shrimp Allergic (SA) Adults to the question, “How troublesome do you find it, because of your food allergy, that people underestimate your problems caused by shrimp allergy?” For each category (SA Child Only, SA Adults with SA Child, SA Adults No SA Child), the number of participants from the cohort that answered this question in the survey is given after the category label. (c) Answer from Shrimp Allergic (SA) Adults to the question, “How troublesome do you find it, because of your food allergy, that allergic reactions will become increasingly severe?” For each category (SA Child Only, SA Adults with SA Child, SA Adults No SA Child), the number of participants from the cohort that answered this question in the survey is given after the category label. (d) Quality of Life Survey Percent Positive Answers from Shrimp Allergic (SA) Adults. Percentage of the cohort in each category is listed after the category (SA Child Only, SA Adults with SA Child, SA Adults No SA Child).