Volume 26, Issue 124, June 2022

A questionnaire-based survey to assess knowledge and attitude regarding food allergy among public and food allergic patients in Makkah region, Saudi Arabia: A comparison study

Rawan Alosaimy¹, Murouj Almaghrabi¹, Ahaad Basahal¹, Amjad Alharthi¹, Bashaer Khawandanah¹, Ghofran Zamil¹, Ruba Alansari¹, Amna Alotiby^2♦

¹Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
²Department of Haematology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Haematology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: This study compares knowledge and attitude regarding food allergy (FA)—a growing global problem—among the general population and FA patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including the public in the Makkah region, Saudi Arabia. Participants were contacted via social media to participate in a 22-item self-administrated questionnaire survey about FA between April and June 2021. Data were collected in Excel documents and analyzed using SPSS. Results: The study included 487 participants: 397 from the general population; 90 FA patients. FA patients (65.6%) possessed better FA knowledge compared to the general population (49.9%) with reported statistical significance (P=0.007). Knowledge was most vital regarding symptoms and severity among both study groups. Females and younger participants possessed better FA knowledge (P<0.001). Both FA patients (81.1%) and the general population (72.0%) revealed a positive attitude. Female gender and high school/diploma education level were significantly associated with a positive attitude: P=0.014, 0.018, respectively. Conclusions: Both groups exhibited insufficient FA knowledge, but a positive attitude. Therefore, FA awareness programs are crucial to mitigate FA risks and complications.

Keywords: food allergy, awareness, general population, Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms212e2235

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i124/ms212e2235

Published: 09 June 2022