Comparison of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among healthy, obese and chronically ill Iranian children

Abstract

BackgroundHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) has frequently been compared between both healthy and obese children and healthy and chronically ill children; however, there is glaring lack of evidence regarding comparison of HRQoL in obese children with their counterparts with chronic diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to compare HRQoL among healthy, obese and chronically ill children.MethodsThis cross sectional study was conducted among 802 children (8–12 years) who were recruited via convenience sampling method. Participants were 98 healthy, 102 obese and 602 chronically ill children with six groups of chronic conditions including different types of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic gastrointestinal, kidney, neurologic and respiratory diseases. HRQoL was assessed using the Iranian version of the PedsQL questionnaire and both reports including child self-report and parent proxy-report were obtained. To compare subscales and total scores of HRQoL among healthy, obese and six groups of chronically ill children, the general linear model was used.ResultsMean self-reported HRQoL total scores were 73.7 ± 13.3 and 74.6 ± 11.8 in girls and boys respectively; based on the parents’ reports, mean HRQoL total scores were 71.6 ± 15.4 and 71.4 ± 13.0 in girls and boys respectively. From the prespectives of both children and parents, HRQoL total score was significantly lower in obese girls compared to both healthy girls and girls with chronic gastrointestinal, kidney, neurologic and respiratory diseases. Considering both children’s and parents’ reports, HRQoL total score was significantly lower in obese boys compared to both healthy boys and boys with chronic respiratory diseases. In terms of subscales of HRQoL, the impairment of HRQoL in obese children, compared to their counterparts with other chronic diseases, was more common in social functioning and physical functioning subscales, specifically in girls.ConclusionObese children reported poorer HRQoL compared to their healthy counterparts, as well as their counterparts with chronic diseases. Current findings emphasize the important impact of childhood obesity on the perceived health of these children, particularly in the social dimension, underscoring thereby the designing, planning and implementation of health promotion programs for prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.

Calidad de vida en los niños que viven con Enfermedad Renal Crónica

“…La Organización Mundial de la Salud dene la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS) como "las metas, expectativas, estándares o preocupaciones de un niño sobre su salud en general y los dominios relacionados con la salud" (16,17). Este concepto es multidimensional e incluye la función física, social y emocional del niño y su familia, y se trastoca en la mayoría de los niños con enfermedades crónicas, especialmente en aquellos con nivel socioeconómico bajo (18,19,20,21).…”

Maternal emotional states in relation to their offspring weight status and health-related quality of life: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

“…Data available on the relationship between weight status and HRQoL in children is controversial. Several studies showed negative associations between children's weight status and HRQoL [9,10], as demonstrated by the Tsiros et al systematic review conducted on 22 studies, revealing an inverse linear relationship between children's BMI and HRQoL for both pediatric self-reports and parent proxy-reports [50]. Further evidence indicates Iranian children with higher BMI are more likely to report poorer HRQoL [13].…”

“…The association between children weight status and HRQoL is controversial. While some studies emphasize the negative impact of childhood obesity on HRQoL [9,10], others have not shown a signi cant relationship between them [11,12]. Similar studies from Iran indicate lower HRQol scores in obese children, compared to their over-or normal-weight counterparts [13,14] which can be observed in a gender-speci c pattern [15].…”

Assessing health related quality of life of school aged Saudi children in western province using the validated Arabic version of child health questionaire-parent form-50

“…In the previously cited Iranian study, similar observation can be deduced regarding emotional functioning where boys (mean score=77.0) had lower scores compared to girls (81.5), although they achieved higher physical (90.5 versus 88.0) and social (90.5 versus 87.1) functioning scores, respectively; however, authors did not analyze the statistical significance of this fluctuation being not the scope of their study. 27 Other authors of an Iranian study reported significant gender effect on the QOL among children afflicted with epilepsy, which may denote adjacent sociocultural factors inducing discrepancy between girls and boys. 34 More remarkably, older and medium ages were crucial, especially for boys where behavior and psychological health was relatively disturbed associating impact on parents and family functioning.…”

“…By focusing on healthy group, comparison with our study reveal fairly comparable findings regarding physical functioning and social functioning, where scores ranged between 80-95 out of 100. 27 Another study by Pinhas-Hamiel investigated the association of obesity with QoL by comparing apparently healthy normal weight versus obese children by means of the PedsQLTM 4.0, using both child-and parent-reported versions. Normal weight children showed >80 mean scores in physical, social and school functioning, whereas emotional functioning showed mean score of 74.1 and 73.2 in child-and parent-reported assessments; 28 which is fairly comparable to findings from our study.…”