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Background: Anxiety from accidental exposure and vigilant dietary monitoring impair the quality of life (QoL) of food-allergic patients. A comprehensive food allergy-specific questionnaire allows patients to accurately report their QoL. This study validated the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire (FAQLQ) series and assessed the QoL of Chinese food-allergic patients and their caregivers.Methods: FAQLQ series developed by EuroPrevall consists of four separate questionnaires for parents, children, adolescents and adults. All questionnaires were translated into traditional Chinese by standard forward and backward methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted on food-allergic patients and children's parents using an age-appropriate questionnaire. The performance indices of FAQLQ and their correlation with independent measures of food allergy were analyzed, and factor analysis was performed to confirm the factor structure of FAQLQ questionnaires.Results: Cross-sectional validation was performed on 214 participants, with 40 reassessed for test–retest reliability. Overall scores for the FAQLQ series had good internal consistency with Cronbach's α ≥.90. Good construct validity was demonstrated by correlations between FAQLQ-Parent Form, FAQLQ-Child Form, FAQLQ-Teenager Form, FAQLQ-Adult Form and Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM) scores, except in 0- to 3-year-old children. Test–retest analyses revealed a significant correlation between total FAQLQ score, parent-reported FAIM and food anxiety domain in 4–6 years, and between total score and FAIM in 7–12 years. Exploratory factor analysis categorized items in the FAQLQ series into three to four domains.Conclusion: FAQLQ series provide a valid and reliable measure for QoL in Chinese food-allergic patients and caregivers, except for parents of children aged 0–3 years. Items for all FAQLQ questionnaires are categorized into different functional domains in our population.

Background The diagnosis of shellfish allergy currently relies on patient history, skin prick test (SPT), and serum specific IgE (sIgE) quantification. These methods lack sufficient diagnostic accuracy, whereas the gold standard of oral food challenges is risky and burdensome. Markers of reactivity and severity of allergic reactions to shellfish will improve clinical care of these patients. Objectives This study compared the diagnostic performance of SPT, sIgE, basophil activation test (BAT), and IgE crosslinking–induced luciferase expression (EXiLE) test for shrimp allergy. Methods Thirty-five subjects with documented history of shrimp allergic reactions were recruited and grouped according to results of double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC). In addition to routine diagnostics, BAT (Flow CAST) and EXiLE test with shrimp extract and tropomyosin were performed. Results Of 35 subjects, 15 were shrimp allergic with pruritus, urticaria, and itchy mouth on DBPCFC, whereas 20 were tolerant to shrimp. Tropomyosin only accounted for 53.3% of sensitization among subjects with challenge-proven shrimp allergy. BAT using shrimp extract as stimulant showed the highest area under curve value (0.88), Youden Index (0.81), likelihood ratio (14.73), odds ratio (104), and variable importance (4.27) when compared with other assays and tropomyosin diagnosis. Results of BAT significantly correlated with those of EXiLE (r = 0.664, P Conclusions BAT is a more accurate diagnostic marker for shrimp allergy than SPT and shrimp sIgE, whereas the EXiLE test based on an IgE crosslinking assay is a good alternative to BAT. Tropomyosin may not be the most important shrimp allergen in Chinese, which warrants further investigation to search for other major allergens and diagnostic markers.