Logo image
Association of Food Allergy, Respiratory Allergy, and Skin Allergy with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among Children
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Association of Food Allergy, Respiratory Allergy, and Skin Allergy with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among Children

Guifeng Xu, Buyun Liu, Wenhan Yang, Linda G Snetselaar, Mingwu Chen, Wei Bao and Lane Strathearn
Nutrients, Vol.14(3), p.474
01/01/2022
DOI: 10.3390/nu14030474
PMCID: PMC8838767
PMID: 35276830
url
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14030474View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have predominately examined associations of respiratory allergy and skin allergy with ADHD, but little is known about the association between food allergy and ADHD. Methods: We included 192,573 children aged 4–17 years from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a leading health survey in a nationally representative sample of the US population. Allergy conditions and ADHD were defined based on an affirmative response in the NHIS questionnaire. We used weighted logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of ADHD. Results: Among the 192,573 children, 15,376 reported ADHD diagnosis. The prevalence of ADHD was higher among children with allergic conditions: 12.66% vs. 7.99% among children with and without food allergy; 12.16% vs. 7.63% among children with and without respiratory allergy; and 11.46% vs. 7.83% among children with and without skin allergy. After adjusting for covariates, the OR of ADHD was 1.72 (95% CI, 1.55–1.91) comparing children with and without food allergy, 1.50 (95% CI, 1.41–1.59) comparing children with and without respiratory allergy, and 1.65 (95% CI, 1.55–1.75) comparing children with and without skin allergy. The observed associations remained significant after mutual adjustment for other allergic conditions. Conclusions: In a nationally representative sample of US children, we found a significant association of common allergic conditions (food allergy, respiratory allergy, and skin allergy) with ADHD.
Asthma Children & Youth Etiology Hyperactivity Adjustment Age Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Children Dermatitis Ethnicity Families & family life Family income Food Food allergies Food hypersensitivity Households Population Sample size Skin Surveys

Details

Metrics

Logo image