1. Allergic diseases do not impair the cognitive development of children but do damage the mental health of their caregivers
- Author
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Zi-Yu Tsai, Ho-Chang Kuo, Liang-Jen Wang, and Ling-Sai Chang
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Hypersensitivity, Immediate ,Male ,Parents ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Allergy ,lcsh:Medicine ,Caregiver Burden ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Child Development ,Cognition ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,medicine ,Cognitive development ,Hypersensitivity ,Humans ,Adhd symptoms ,lcsh:Science ,Child ,Family APGAR ,Asthma ,Multidisciplinary ,business.industry ,lcsh:R ,Infant ,Atopic dermatitis ,medicine.disease ,Mental health ,body regions ,030104 developmental biology ,Mental Health ,Caregivers ,Parenting roles ,Child, Preschool ,lcsh:Q ,Female ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Stress, Psychological - Abstract
This study aimed to investigate whether children with atopic diseases exhibited different neurodevelopment function from healthy controls and whether their caregivers had differential parental stress. In total, we recruited 109 patients with atopic diseases (mean age 6.8 years, 54.1% male) and 82 healthy children (mean age 6.3 years, 54.9% male). Based on the children’s age, they underwent developmental, cognitive evaluations and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. The parenting stress of children’s caregivers was evaluated using the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ-12) and Family APGAR. Of the children with atopic diseases, 87.2%, 74.3%, 29.4%, and 8.3% of them had allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, and urticaria, respectively. None of these conditions were associated with children’s cognitive profiles or ADHD symptoms. However, the caregivers of patients who had asthma suffered from higher CHQ-12 scores than those of patients without asthma. Furthermore, the number of atopic diseases had a dose–response effect on caregivers’ CHQ-12 scores. In conclusion, allergic diseases did not impair the cognitive development of children. However, caregivers of patients with asthma or multiple atopic diseases may suffer a greater mental health burden with regard to caring for their children. Such caregivers may require support to effectively fulfill their parenting roles.
- Published
- 2020