Alergia alimentaria y calidad de vida

Abstract

Specific food allergy quality of life questionnaires have been developed in the EuroPrevall project. Cultural adaptation of these instruments will allow their application in Spanish clinical cohorts to measure the impact of food allergy. Objective: We sought to adapt and validate the FAQLQ-AF to the Spanish language. Methods: Translation and cultural adaptation of original instrument to Spanish was made following WHO recommendations. Afterwards an extensive review was performed by the Expert Panel which includes a native English speaker who back-translated the document in order to avoid and discuss discrepancies. Final version of translated questionnaire was also tested in a sample drawn from healthy and allergic population, matched by age, sex and socioeconomic distribution. Final version of Spanish FAQLQ-AF (S-FAQLQ-AF) was approved by the original authors of questionnaire. A pilot study was performed. Patients were included following subsequent criteria: (1) diagnosis of food allergy defined as immediate allergic symptoms and positive prick test or IgE against implicated food, (2) a physician considered the patient being physically and mentally capable of completing the questionnaires. Spectrum of severity includes mild to severe reactions. Patients completed the S-FAQLQ-AF and a validated Spanish Language generic HRQoL questionnaire (SF-12). Patients recorded completion time and difficulties with the questionnaires. Reliability was assessed by administering a version of the S-FAQLQ-AF with an altered order of questions, 3 to 4 days after the first administration. Results: 53 consecutive outpatients were recruited. Construct validity was assessed based on the correlation between the S-FAQLQ-AF and the Food Allergy Independent Measure (ρ=0.53, p<0,001). The S-FAQLQ-AF showed an excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α=0.95). Domains also had an excellent internal consistency: Allergen Avoidance (α= 0.87) Emotional impact (α= 0.78), Risk of Accidental Exposure (α= 0,88) and Dietary Restriction (α= 0.89). No correlation was found between S-FAQLQ-AF and the SF12 questionnaire. Conclusion: Spanish adult version of the FAQLQ-AF is a valid and reliable instrument to assess impact in Quality of life in patients with IgE mediated food allergy.