Class of 2023 Valedictorian Isabel Louie’s public health article,”The Influence of Food Allergies on Health-Related Quality of Life” will appear in a peer-reviewed journal this fall.
The editorial board of the Austin-based Journal of Research: High School, a peer-reviewed academic journal for the nation's best secondary research, has agreed to publish Isabel Louie’s study of the impact of childhood food allergies on the quality of life of both children and their parents.
Ms. Louie worked for over two years on the project. She was mentored by Ned Gross, M.D., and Stephen Sullivan, Ph.D. (Sacred Heart Academy’s Research Director).
The abstract of her article follows: "Since the 1990s, the prevalence of food allergies (FA) has grown. Individuals with FA must prepare for potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. Previous research has shown that FA contribute to increased anxiety because of avoidance of allergens, ultimately contributing to the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of both the patient with the allergy and the parents of a child with a FA. It is necessary to investigate the impact of HRQOL with an inclusive demographic of participants, a component past studies lack, to better create FA management strategies. The influence of FA on HRQOL was closely examined through the distribution of three surveys: a general HRQOL questionnaire based on a number of reported unhealthy days, and a FA-specific HRQOL adolescent and parental burden questionnaire. 113 adolescents and 274 parents completed these surveys after providing informed consent. Adolescents with a FA had fewer overall unhealthy days than non-allergic adolescents, but reported a greater number of unhealthy mental and physical health days. Adolescents with long-term health impairments reported a greater number of overall unhealthy days than adolescents with FA. Parents of a child with FA reported experiencing a larger quantity of overall and physically unhealthy days than parents of a child without FA, though no significant conclusion could be drawn regarding the connection between the parental burden associated with FA to HRQOL.”
Isabel’s article represents Sacred Heart Academy's fifth peer-reviewed publication in 2022-23, and 15th such accomplishment since March, 2020.