SKARP - A population-based cohort study of childhood food-associated symptoms perceived by parents and food allergies diagnosed by physicians: Design, methods and participation
Background: Few epidemiological studies exist on food-associated symptoms and allergies in large unselected child populations. Aims: To describe the design, methods and participation rate of the South Karelian Allergy Research Project (SKARP), a population-based epidemiological study on food-associa...
Published in: | Scandinavian Journal of Public Health |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
SAGE Publications
2011
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1403494810394907 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1403494810394907 |
Summary: | Background: Few epidemiological studies exist on food-associated symptoms and allergies in large unselected child populations. Aims: To describe the design, methods and participation rate of the South Karelian Allergy Research Project (SKARP), a population-based epidemiological study on food-associated symptoms and physician-diagnosed food allergies. Methods: The study population of 5,973 children born between 2001 and 2006 and resident in the province of South Karelia, Finland, was identified from the nationwide population register. The parents received a questionnaire to be returned at their child’s annual visit to the child health clinic, where supplementary interviews were performed. Results of allergy tests (skin prick tests, immunoglobulin E antibodies and open food challenges) performed on participants and non-participants were collected from the relevant health care units in the area. Results: Participation rates in the questionnaire study were 54% (644/1,194) among the parents of neonates and 69% (3308/4,779) among those of the children aged 1 to 4 years. Cooperation with the child health clinics and mailing of a reminder questionnaire improved participation by 8 and 10 percentage points, respectively. The final participation rate seemed to be unaffected by whether the child had or had not been tested for suspected allergy. Conclusions: A reasonably good participation rate and almost complete coverage of allergy tests were achieved thanks to successful cooperation with the child health clinics and test laboratories. This baseline study forms a representative database to estimate the occurrence of food-associated symptoms, physician-diagnosed food allergies and allergy testing in the general population. |
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