Pills from the literature
Issue 2 - 2026
Psychological and social problems in children with severe allergies
Evidence on the effectiveness of motivational interviewing and brief cognitive-behavioral therapy
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Allergic diseases in childhood impose a substantial psychosocial burden beyond their clinical manifestations. Their management requires close collaboration between families, pediatricians, specialists, social services, and healthcare systems. Allergic children should have guaranteed access to integrated health and social support, prioritizing those worsened by inadequate caregiving 1. Moreover, the available literature on psychological and social problems in allergic children is limited, despite evidence of higher psychological disorder rates in these patients compared with the general population. ....
References
- Golding MA, Batac ALR, Gunnarsson NV, et al. The burden of food allergy on children and teens: a systematic review. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2022;33:e13743. https://doi.org/10.1111/pai.13743. https://doi.org/
- Garg N, Silverberg JI. Association between childhood allergic disease, psychological comorbidity, and injury requiring medical attention. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2014;112:525-532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2014.03.006.
- Morou Z, Tatsioni A, Dimoliatis ID, et al. Health-related quality of life in children with food allergy and their parents: a systematic review of the literature. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2014;24:382-395.
- Jarosz M, Syed S, Błachut M, et al. Emotional distress and quality of life in allergic diseases. Wiad Lek 2020;73:370-373.
- Sherrey J, Biggs S, Dorrian J, et al. Allergic disease, sleep problems, and psychological distress in children recruited from the general community. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2022;129:366-372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2022.05.008.
- Engel ML, Warren CM, Herbert LJ, et al. The psychosocial burden of pediatric food allergy in the United States: a population-based survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2025;13:630-638.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2024.12.007.
- Verdi M, Candido D, Madan J, et al. Addressing anxiety and depression in the allergy clinic through motivational interviewing, brief cognitive behavioral therapy, and curious questions. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2025;13:1960-1969.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2025.05.020.
- Boyle RJ, Umasunthar T, Smith JG, et al. A brief psychological intervention for mothers of children with food allergy can change risk perception and reduce anxiety: outcomes of a randomized controlled trial. Clin Exp Allergy 2017;47:1309-1317. https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.12981.
- McDonnell A, Manning JC, Gardner J, et al. Parental anxiety in food allergy: using a cognitive behavioural therapy approach to guide early intervention. Nurs Child Young People 2023;35:15-20. https://doi.org/10.7748/ncyp.2023.e1453.
- Tong JY, Lee Z, Burns KD, et al. New delivery models of cognitive behavioral therapy-based interventions for food allergy anxiety. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2025;13:2213-2215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2025.04.050.
- Abdelwadoud M, Eftekhari S, Jaffee H, et al. Food allergy treatment value: child caregiver and patient perspectives. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2021;32:1038-1047. https://doi.org/10.1111/pai.13464.
- Bunke C, Schellpfeffer N, Leo H, et al. Cost-effectiveness analysis of undesignated stock epinephrine for anaphylaxis in US summer camps. Pediatrics 2025;155:e2024068960. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2024-068960.
- Vazquez-Ortiz M, Gore C, Alviani C, et al. A practical toolbox for the effective transition of adolescents and young adults with asthma and allergies: an EAACI position paper. Allergy 2023;78:20-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/all.15533.
Downloads
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright
Copyright (c) 2026 Italian Journal of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
How to Cite
- Abstract viewed - 0 times
- pdf downloaded - 0 times
