Food Allergy Care and Outcomes in Adolescents (the FOCUS study)
Currently, most adolescents with a diagnosis of food allergy will undergo skin prick and blood tests to measure food allergen sensitisation. If they are still “sensitised” (test positive) to the food, they are considered allergic. However, it is possible that some people who are still sensitised no longer have a food allergy. This means that they might be able to eat the food without having a reaction despite having positive skin prick tests or blood tests to the food.
Oral food challenges are the most accurate way to determine whether someone is still allergic to a food. However, these are currently not routinely offered to adolescents as part of their clinical care. In this study, we want to find out whether offering oral food challenges before adolescents move from paediatric to adult care can reduce the number of adolescents who enter adulthood with a food allergy diagnosis. We also want to find out whether having oral food challenges can reduce anxiety and improve confidence in managing food allergy for adolescents who are still food allergic.
Recruitment criteria
If you are a teenagers between 15 -17 year-old, who has a history of doctor diagnosed IgE food allergy (such as to peanut, egg, milk, or tree nut/s) or have had a anaphylaxis or have had a positive allergy tests and/or have been avoiding the foods for a long time.
Recruiting end date: 31/12/2029
Funding source: NHMRC
Human Ethics Research Committee approval number: HREC/2024/QCHQ/115577
ANZCTR - ACTRN12625001208493
What will participants do?
Families with adolescents aged 15–18 years with a doctor‑diagnosed food allergy are invited to participate in this study. Parents and their children will be asked to complete online questionnaires at the start, and again at 6 and 12 months (about 20 minutes each), capturing their experiences with food allergy, including anxiety, quality of life, and allergy management.
A study nurse or doctor will review your child’s allergy history and assess their eligibility for an oral food challenge and skin prick test. If your child is eligible and agrees to take part in the oral food challenge, they will be invited to attend the research clinic at Queensland Children’s Hospital, Brisbane (QLD), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne (VIC) and Perth Children’s Hospital, Perth (WA). This visit takes about 4–6 hours and involves giving very small, increasing amounts of the allergenic food under medical supervision. The skin prick test takes about 15–30 minutes and involves giving a tiny poke on the arm to see if a small mosquito bite-like bump appears.
Optional consent is available if interested (1) provide a blood sample (about 20 ml) for research tests, and (2) store any leftover blood for future, ethically approved allergy research. You may also choose to be contacted about future studies.
Potential risks may include temporary itching or swelling from the skin prick test, bruising or light‑headedness from the blood draw, and allergic reactions during the oral food challenge (all managed on‑site by trained clinical staff).
Participant benefits
No financial benefits; however, participation in this research may inform the participants if they have outgrown the allergy. This information is important because it tells the participant if they need to keep avoiding eating certain foods.
We hope that the findings of this study will help to improve the management of food allergy in the future. Findings from this study will inform clinical guidelines related to food allergy testing and oral food challenges in adolescence.
If you and your child are interested in knowing more about the study, please contact us at thefocusstudy@uq.edu.au
This study, “the FOCUS,” is taking place at the Queensland Children’s Hospital, Brisbane (QLD), and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne (VIC) and Perth Children’s Hospital, Perth (WA).
- Associate Professor Jennifer Koplin
- Associate Professor Jane Peake
- Professor Kirsten Perrett
- Dr Michael O’Sullivan
- Dr Tim Brettig
- Associate Professor Rachel Peters
- Professor Vanessa Cobham
- Professor Janet Davies
- Dr Li Huang
- Associate Professor Mark Chatfield
- Dr Catherine Hornung
Contact
Victoria Gibson: thefocusstudy@uq.edu.au