Key factors that influence quality of life in patients with IgE-mediated food allergy vary by age.

BACKGROUND: While food allergy (FA) can be fatal, the greatest public health impact of FA arguably lies in its detrimental effect on quality of life (FAQOL). Understanding the factors that contribute to FAQOL at different ages is essential to develop personalized interventions that will improve FAQOL. OBJECTIVE: To determine the most influential factors that impact FAQOL across ages in well-phenotyped participants with confirmed FA. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five individuals aged 2-28 years with IgE-mediated FA completed validated age-specific FAQOL questionnaires. The relationship between demographic/clinical variables and scores were analyzed to identify key predictors of FAQOL. RESULTS: Poor FAQOL was associated with increasing age, strict avoidance practices, reactions to trace exposures, and more severe reactions as assessed by epinephrine use, anaphylaxis, and/or treatment in the emergency department; FAQOL improved with time from the event. FAQOL was worse in subjects avoiding >2 versus ≤2 foods and in those avoiding milk, egg, soy, sesame, or wheat. Number of foods avoided had greatest impact on children ages 2-7 years, while total number of allergic reactions strongly impacted FAQOL in teens and adults; FAQOL of subjects ages 8-12 years appeared less affected by these variables compared to other age groups. A decision tree analysis identified key predictors of overall FAQOL (age, number of food avoidances, and time since epinephrine use) that can be used to guide intervention strategies to improve FAQOL. CONCLUSION: We directly compared FAQOL in extensively phenotyped children, teenagers, and adults with confirmed IgE-mediated FA. Age; timing, number, and severity of reactions; type and number of FA; and food avoidance practices influence FAQOL and should guide intervention strategies.

Interventions for anxiety and depression in patients with atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is associated with anxiety and depression. Few studies have addressed interventions for symptoms of anxiety and depression in this population. To determine the efficacy of interventions for anxiety and depression in patients with AD. PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO were searched from inception to November 2023. English-language studies published in peer-reviewed journals evaluating the effect of interventions on anxiety and/or depression using validated assessment tools on patients with AD were included. Titles, abstracts, and articles were screened by at least two independent reviewers. Of 1410 references that resulted in the initial search, 17 studies were included. Fourteen of these studies are randomized controlled trials, while the other 3 studies are prospective controlled trials with pre and post-test designs. Data were extracted using a standardized extraction form, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. To accommodate trials with multiple interventions (each compared to a control group), we conducted a mixed-effects meta-analysis with the trial as a random effect. Prespecified outcomes were changes in symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with AD as evaluated using standardized assessment tools. Of the 17 studies included in this systematic review, 7 pharmacological intervention studies with 4723 participants examining 5 different medications were included in a meta-analysis. Of these studies, only 1 study evaluated medications prescribed to treat anxiety and/or depression; the rest evaluated medications prescribed to treat AD. Meta-analysis of all the pharmacological interventions resulted in significant improvement in anxiety, depression, and combined anxiety-depression scale scores (standardized mean difference [95% CI]: - 0.29 [- 0.49 to - 0.09], - 0.27 [- 0.45 to - 0.08], - 0.27 [- 0.45 to - 0.08]) respectively. The 10 non-pharmacological studies with 2058 participants showed general improvement in anxiety but not depression. A meta-analysis of the non-pharmacological interventions was not conducted due to variable approaches and limited data. Pharmacological interventions designed to improve AD were found to improve anxiety and depression in patients with moderate-severe disease. More comprehensive studies on non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions that primarily target anxiety and depression are needed.

Natural history of infants with non-SCID T cell lymphopenia identified on newborn screen.

Newborn screening (NBS) for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) can identify infants with non-SCID T cell lymphopenia (TCL). The purpose of this study was to characterize the natural history and genetic findings of infants with non-SCID TCL identified on NBS. We analyzed data from 80 infants with non-SCID TCL in the mid-Atlantic region between 2012 and 2019. 66 patients underwent genetic testing and 41 (51%) had identified genetic variant(s). The most common genetic variants were thymic defects (33%), defects with unknown mechanisms (12%) and bone marrow production defects (5%). The genetic cohort had significantly lower median initial CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD4/CD45RA+ T cell counts compared to the non-genetic cohort. Thirty-six (45%) had either viral, bacterial, or fungal infection; only one patient had an opportunistic infection (vaccine strain VZV infection). Twenty-six (31%) of patients had resolution of TCL during the study period.

Fatal autoimmune pneumonitis requiring bilobectomy and omental flap repair in a patient with autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED).

We present a severe case of progressive autoimmune pneumonitis requiring surgical intervention in a patient with the monogenic syndrome, autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED). APECED is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene, which lead to impaired central immune tolerance and autoimmune organ destruction including pneumonitis, an underrecognized, life-threatening complication. When clinicians evaluate patients with pneumonitis, recurrent mucosal candidiasis, and autoimmunity, APECED should be considered in the differential. Additionally, in patients with established APECED, a chest computed tomography is preferred to identify pneumonitis early on and to promptly initiate lymphocyte-directed immunomodulatory treatment, which can prevent irreversible lung destruction.