The impact of bullying in Canadian children with confirmed Food allergy and its influence on wearing medical identification

BaCkground: Food allergy is common in children and adolescents in Canada and Western countries. This population is at risk for bullying according to recent studies. oBJeCtives: To determine the presence and characteristics of bullying in children and adolescents with confirmed food allergy in British Columbia, and to investigate the role of bullying on the decision to wear a medical identification bracelet or necklace. Methods: The present study involved children and adolescents five to 17 years of age recruited at the BC Children's Hospital Allergy Clinic. Surveys were completed by parents of children five to 12 years of age, and by adolescents 13 to 17 years of age during their clinic visit. results: The study included 110 children and adolescents. Twenty percent reported being bullied; 77.3% of those experienced it repeatedly. Medical identification was worn by only 24.5%, and 16.3% reported not wearing medical identification due to the fear of being 'labelled' for bullying. School grounds were the most frequent location for bullying (86.3%) and classmates were the highest reported offenders (86.3%). Nonphysical acts occurred more often than physical acts. Potential confounders of sex and body mass index were not associated with increased bullying. ConClusion: The rate of bullying in the present study was comparable with that reported in previous American studies. It was found that few children with food allergy wear medical identification, and some avoid wearing it due to the fear of being bullied. Many children and adolescents who are bullied due to food allergy are additionally bullied for other reasons, making this population even more vulnerable.