Assessing anxiety levels in mothers of infants with atopic dermatitis or food allergies

Introduction
Mothers of children with atopic dermatitis and food allergies frequently experience increased anxiety levels, which can affect their well-being and their child’s condition management. Enhancing treatment outcomes in paediatric allergy care involves targeting maternal anxiety and utilizing a multidisciplinary approach.

Aim
The purpose of our study was to assess the anxiety levels of mothers whose children have been diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, food allergies, or both.

Material and methods
This cross-sectional study comprised 158 mothers. Out of the children of the participants, 53 had both food allergy and atopic dermatitis, while 54 had atopic dermatitis alone, and 51 were healthy control subjects. Food allergy in patients was diagnosed using skin prick test and food-specific immunoglobulin E values. The SCORAD index was utilised to evaluate the severity of atopic dermatitis. The mothers’ assessment involved the Beck Anxiety Scale, and data were subjected to analysis using IBM SPSS (version 25).

Results
Statistically significant differences in Beck Anxiety Scale scores were observed across the three groups (p = 0.001). Pairwise comparisons using Dunn’s test showed that mothers in the ‘Eczema’ group (p = 0.012) and the ‘Eczema + food allergy’ group (p = 0.001) had significantly higher anxiety scores compared to the control group. There was no significant difference between patient groups.

Conclusions
Anxiety levels were found to be higher in mothers with children who had food allergy and atopic dermatitis. Support plays a critical role in reducing stress and anxiety for mothers of children with allergies, directly affecting the effectiveness of treatment.