Monitoring the quality-of-life in allergic disorders

To review the results from recent studies that assessed the burden of allergic diseases on the patients' every-day life, or contributed to new advances in monitoring quality-of-life in allergic disorders. This review will not report the numerous clinical trials that included quality-of-life as an outcome.

Quality-of-life impairment was investigated in patients with asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis or food allergy. A new questionnaire was validated for patients with yellow jacket allergy. At the same time, the properties of formerly developed questionnaires were further investigated and tools were developed to assess factors related to quality-of-life, such as work functioning, or perceived control of the disease.

Allergic disorders are associated with a variety of limitations in the patients' daily life. The relative burden of concomitant disorders, however, has not been thoroughly investigated. When monitoring quality-of-life, investigators should ensure that the results are not biased by confounding factors that may affect quality-of-life. Moreover, the uncertainty around estimates of change in health status related to treatment and around standard thresholds for clinical significance should be taken into account before drawing inference as regards the treatment worthiness.