Table 5.
Odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of the relationships between parental characteristics, the safety of their children’s diets, and problems with adhering to an elimination diet.
| Parental Education—Primary Education (Ref. University Education) | Parental Age—>35 Years (Ref. <35 Years) | Allergies in the Family (Ref. No Allergies in the Immediate Family) | Parental Knowledge—Parents in the Bottom Tertile (Ref. Parents in the Upper Tertile) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The elimination diet was recommended by a pediatrician and consulted with a dietician. | 0.59 ** (0.51–0.68) | 1.07 (0.96–1.11) | 1.03 (0.94–1.14) | 0.74 * (0.69–0.93) |
| Allergenic foods are replaced with safe substitutes to minimize the loss of nutrients. | 1.34 * (1.27–1.56) | 1.09 (1.01–1.17) | 0.91 (0.82–1.04) | 1.49 * (1.23–1.65) |
| When shopping for food, I always read food allergen labels. | 0.77 * (0.54–0.91) | 1.39 * (1.21–1.56) | 0.96 (0.84–1.07) | 1.31 * (1.25–1.48) |
| I sporadically buy other food products than those with listed ingredients. | 1.21 * (1.03–1.37) | 1.11 (0.94–1.27) | 0.82 * (0.73–0.97) | 1.13 (0.94–1.21) |
| I often buy food products that may contain trace amounts of allergenic ingredients. | 1.11 (0.95–1.28) | 1.27 * (1.12–1.42) | 1.04 (0.92–1.23) | 0.74 * (0.61–0.93) |
| Foods consumed outside the home setting are not safe because they often contain allergens. | 1.54 * (1.27–1.87) | 1.14 (0.96–1.27) | 0.92 (0.76–1.09) | 1.76 ** (1.54–1.89) |
| Both sporadic and frequent consumption of allergens is dangerous for the child. | 0.88 (0.69–1.04) | 0.76 * (0.61–0.95) | 1.09 (0.91–1.25) | 0.59 ** (0.41–0.78) |
The odds ratios were adjusted for the safety of the elimination diet, depending on the parents’ socioeconomic characteristics, excluding the modeled variable from the confounder set. Two variables were identified as potential confounding factors: parental age and education. Parental age was rounded to the nearest full year, below or above 35 years. University education was defined as the acquisition of a bachelor’s/engineer’s or a master’s degree. Parents with primary education were defined as those who did not pass a matriculation exam. p < 0.05—*; p < 0.01 **—level of significance assessed by Wald’s test.