Level of agreement between children with asthma and their parents on quality of life

Background: Child-parent agreement is a controversial aspect of measuring health-related quality of life [HRQoL] in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to assess the agreement between the child self-reports and parent proxy reports of the PedsQL 3.0 Asthma Module in Iranian children with asthma to evaluate HRQoL. Moreover, the psychometric properties of the child and parent reports of the PedsQL 3.0 Asthma Module were assessed in the present study

Methods: Participants were 112 children with asthma and their parents, who completed the Farsi version of the PedsQL 3.0 Asthma Module. The multitrait-multimethod correlation matrix and factor analysis were used to test whether the child self-reports and the parent proxy reports measured the same construct. Additionally, convergent and discriminant validity and internal consistency were assessed using the Pearson correlation

Results: The correlation between the child and parent HRQoL perceptions ranged between 0.13 and 0.36 across the same domains. Our factor analysis revealed that the child self-reports and the parent proxy reports measured 2 different constructs of HRQoL. Furthermore, our findings showed that both the child self-reports and the parent proxy reports of the PedsQL 3.0 Asthma Module had excellent internal consistency and acceptable convergent and discriminant validity

Conclusion: Although the child self-reports and the parent proxy reports of the Farsi version of PedsQL 3.0 Asthma Module showed good psychometric properties, they were not interchangeable. Our children with asthma and their parents evaluated child HRQoL from their own viewpoints

Specific IgE to common food allergens in children with atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is a major public health problem, often starting in early childhood and sometimes followed by other allergic diseases. Although hypersensitivity to foods is assumed to play an essential role in the development of atopic dermatitis in some patients, little is known about common food allergens in Iranian children with atopic dermatitis. This study was designed to identify probable food allergens in Iranian children with atopic dermatitis and find the relationship between food sensitization and the severity of atopic dermatitis. This study included 90 children aged 2-48 months with atopic dermatitis. Skin prick tests for cow's milk, hen's egg, almond, potato and soybean were done. Serum specific IgE to 20 food allergens was also screened. Among children with atopic dermatitis, the frequency of food sensitization was 40% by skin prick test and 51% by food-specific IgE. Children with atopic dermatitis were most commonly sensitized to cow's milk [31%], hen's egg [17.7%], tree nuts [17.7%], wheat [12.2%], potato [11.1%], tomato [8.8%] and peanut [8.8%]. In 42 children with moderate to severe eczema, sensitivity to food allergens was 78.5% by skin prick test and 88% by serum specific IgE evaluation. Our results showed that cow's milk, hen's egg and tree nuts were the most common food allergens in Iranian children with atopic dermatitis. Sensitization to foods was much higher in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. Determining specific IgE in children with atopic dermatitis can be helpful in managing these patients