Link between Food Allergies and Childhood Anxiety

Scientists have discovered a link between food allergies and childhood anxiety. The research took place at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Through the researchers, the scientists got to know the link between food allergy and childhood anxiety as well as depression among a sample of predominantly low socioeconomic status children.

For the research, 80 pediatric patients’ ages 4-12 years, 8 years old on average were studied by the researchers. As per the reports, these pediatric patients were examined with and without food allergy with their caregivers from urban pediatric outpatient clinics in the Bronx, New York.

The researchers controlled for an asthma diagnosis in the children, as anxiety and mood disorders are more prevalent among youth with asthma, especially more common in low socioeconomic children.

As a result, the scientists found that among the children with a food allergy, 57 percent reported having symptoms of anxiety compared to 48 percent of children without a food allergy. Approximately 48 percent of the children had symptoms of depression with or without a food allergy.

By: Priyanka Negi

Content: www.sciencedaily.com