The relationship between allergic diseases and internalising and externalising behaviours in Spanish children: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: The relationship between allergic diseases and behavioural disorders is still unclear. The objective of this study is to describe and compare children's behaviour (internalising and externalising) across a sample of children between 6 and 11-years-old with and without allergic diseases.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, observational case-control study that comprises a survey of 366 families (194 cases and 172 controls) including a Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and a sociodemographic questionnaire with questions related to family, school education, health conditions, and allergy symptoms was administered.

Results: Children with a diagnosis of allergy showed higher scores in the overall CBCL score (standardised mean differences [SMD] = 0.47; CI: 0.26-0.68) and in the internalising and externalising factors (SMD = 0.52 and SMD = 0.36, respectively) than non-allergic children. Odds ratio analyses showed a higher risk (OR = 2.76; CI 95% [1.61 to 4.7211 of developing a behavioural difficulty in children diagnosed with allergies. Age and level of asthma appears as modulatory variables.

Conclusions: Children diagnosed with allergies at age 6 to 11 years show larger behavioural problems than non-allergic children, especially in internalising behaviours. These findings suggest the importance of attending to them and treating them in the early stages of the diagnosis to avoid future psychological disorders. (C) 2021 Codon Publications. Published by Codon Publications.