Health-related quality of life of school-age with familial Mediterranean fever

CER80
2009 Vol.27, N°2 ,Suppl.53
PI 0096, PF 0101
Paediatric Rheumatology

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PMID: 19796543 [PubMed]

Received: 02/12/2008
Accepted : 27/03/2009
In Press: 02/12/2009
Published: 02/12/2009

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
To describe and compare the parent proxy-reported and child self-reported physical and psychosocial HRQOL of school-age children who have FMF with healthy peers.
METHODS:
The Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM 4.0 (PedsQLTM 4.0) Generic Core Scales was used to measure HRQOL. Fifty-one patients and 81 healthy peers were enrolled in the study. Patients were grouped according to their ages as: 1) Children (8 – 12 years) and 2) Adolescents (13 – 18 years). An accompanying parent completed the parent proxy-report of the PedsQLTM 4.0.
RESULTS:
PedsQL™ scores of children (8-12 years) with FMF were significantly lower than healthy peers for physical and psychosocial functioning for both child self-report and parent proxy-report. The parent proxy-report and child self-reported PedsQL™ scores of adolescent patients (13-18 years) with FMF were lower than the healthy group for physical, emotional, and school functioning; however no significant difference was detected regarding the social functioning. Adolescents with FMF had significantly higher social functioning scores when compared to the younger age group (8-12 years) with FMF, 92.6±8.5 and 82.2±17.6, respectively (p=0.028). The scores of physical, emotional, and school functioning were similar in both groups (p=0.73, p=0.93, and p=0.91, respectively). Correlations among child self-report subscales and proxy-report subscales were all significant and varied from moderate to high.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study suggested that assessment of HRQOL has potential clinical implications for the healthcare needs of children and adolescents with FMF. Given the degree of reported impairment in their health-related quality of life, individualized counseling and interventions are needed.