Abstract
This study estimates the effects of food hypersensitivity on individuals' perceived welfare and well-being compared to non-food hypersensitive individuals. Study respondents were recruited in the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and UK. The difference in welfare between food hypersensitive respondents and those asymptomatic to foods was estimated using a subjective welfare approach, including income evaluation. Well-being was measured using the Cantril Ladder-of-Life Scale, and health status using the Self-Perceived Health Scale. The difference in well-being, welfare and health status between participant groups was explained further using a number of background variables. No significant within-country differences in welfare between food hypersensitive respondents and respondents asymptomatic to foods were found. In terms of well-being, adult food hypersensitive respondents and their spouses reported significantly less happiness than respondents and their spouses asymptomatic to foods in the Netherlands and Poland. In Spain, the spouses of the food hypersensitive respondents were significantly less happy than respondents aymptomatic to foods. The well-being of children did not significantly differ between groups. The degree of severity of food hypersensitivity was negatively related to overall health status. In Poland, food hypersensitive respondents reported worse health status compared to asymptomatic respondents. In Spain, the converse was true. Food hypersensitive respondents were generally less happy with their life as a whole than respondents asymptomatic to foods, presumably because they experienced more negative effects, which were not related to perceived health status.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 465-482 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Social Indicators Research |
Volume | 107 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2012 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgments The research presented here was funded by the European Commission contract no. 514000 Europrevall ‘The prevalence, costs and basis of food allergy across Europe.’ We would like to thank all the participants for their input in this study. Furthermore, we would like to thank all the clinicians that contributed to the data collection. In particular, we would like to thank Laura Barreales-Tolosa, Kirsten Beyer, Peter Burney, Montserrat Fernandez Rivas, Ana Fiandor, Jose Ignacio Larco, Elena Sopelana, Carmen Salazar, Ischa Kummeling, and Doreen McBride.
Keywords
- Europrevall
- Food allergy
- Food hypersensitivity
- Food intolerance
- Subjective welfare
- Subjective well-being
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Sociology and Political Science
- General Social Sciences