Mohammad Reza Boloursaz, Soheila Khalilzadeh, Amir Ali Khodayari, Mohammad Saebi, Shahin Hakimi, Ali Akbar Velayati.
National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and lung Disease, Massih Daneshvari Hospital, Shahid Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran.
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
Boloursaz Mohammad Reza, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease; P.O.BOX: 19575-154, Tehran, Iran.
Email: Bolursazm@yahoo.com | | Keywords | | Asthma, Quality of life, Children, PAQLQ | | | In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) offered a new definition for health which included absence of disease along with optimal physical, mental and social status. This new definition emphasizes the importance of life quality in healthcare and medical centers. (1, 2) The quality of life (QoL) and specifically health-related quality of life (HRQL) are issues of discussion in the field of chronic diseases. We studied 102 asthmatic children (7-15 yrs) at the Masih Daneshvari Hospital (NRITLD). After obtaining written consent from their parents, the PAQLQ questionnaire was translated into Farsi. The questions asked in the "physical activities" section of the questionnaire were mostly about the sports and activities popular among Iranian children. PAQLQ contained 23 questions in three domains: Activity limitation: 5 questions; Symptoms: 10 questions; Emotional function: 8 questions. The score for each section was calculated by using the mean score obtained from the questions of that section. The total score is the mean score of all sections. Final analysis was performed using SPSS software. The mean age of children was 11.5 ± 3.2 yrs (range 7-15 yrs). The obtained scores are demonstrated in Table 1. Out of 102 children, 76 children (74.5%) had limitations in 3 activities, 20 children (19.6%) in 2 activities and 9 children (8%) in 1 activity. Two patients reported no limitations. Children mostly had limitation in performing the followings physical activities: Group ball games (69%), Running (31%), Rope jumping (22%) and Uphill walking (20%). Sleeping and speaking were disrupted in 2 patients. Fifty eight (56.6%) patients were females and 44 (43.4%) were males. Comparison of the total scores between the two genders indicated that the health related quality of life was lower in asthmatic boys compared to asthmatic girls (P<0.05). Also, the quality of life in patients who were under treatment with long-acting beta-agonists and those who were using inhalers was higher than the others (P<0.05). Our results demonstrated that the quality of life in asthmatic children was directly correlated with their disease severity. With aggravation of asthma, the patient's quality of life deteriorated significantly (P<0.05).(Table 2)
Table 1: The scores obtained from each section
| Median | Range | Overall score | 5.8 | 2.85-6.94 | Activities | 4.9 | 2.44-7 | Symptoms | 5.69 | 2.56-6.9 | Emotions | 6.53 | 3.1-7
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Table 2: The correlation of disease severity and scores according to the type of question
| Intermediate asthma | Mild persistent | Moderate persistent | Severe persistent | P-value | Patients no. (%) | 41(40.1%) | 49(48%) | 10(9.8%) | 2(1.9%) | | Total score | 5.2 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 2.5 | P<0.01 | Activities | 6.8 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 2.1 | Symptoms | 6.3 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 2.1 | Emotions | 6.9 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 2.3
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Improving the quality of life in children suffering from chronic diseases is an important issue in treatment. Reichenberg and colleagues in the year 2000 evaluated the quality of life of asthmatic children in Sweden .(3) Their study results demonstrated that Swedish asthmatic children mostly had limitation in performing the following activities: gymnastic, uphill walking, and football. Similar limitations in physical activities were present in our under study subjects as well. In our study, the quality of life in asthmatic boys was lower than in asthmatic girls. The smaller size and higher resistance of airways in boys compared to girls and wide range of physical activities in this group of patients can aggravate asthma and result in consequent deterioration of life quality. This situation is opposite in asthmatic adults. Inhaled beta agonists are the mainstay of asthma treatment. These drugs are classified according to their efficacy within a 24-hour period. A large number of studies have emphasized the efficacy of long-acting drugs. In this study, the quality of life in children who were using long-acting drugs was higher than others. But, higher price of such drugs in comparison to short-acting beta-agonists is the main reason these drugs are not prescribed. Use of inhaler especially by children and the elderly results in sufficient amount of the drugs. In this study, use of inhalers resulted in an increased quality of life.
Conclusion: It appears that proper use of inhaled drugs and long-acting beta-agonists can play an important role in improving the health status and quality of life in asthmatic children. | | | | Compliance with Ethical Standards | | Funding None | | | | Conflict of Interest None | | |
- Pedersen S. Asthma in children. In: Barnes PJ, editor. Asthma. Basic mechanisms and clinical management. San Diego: Academic; 1998. [CrossRef]
- Kind P. Measuring quality of life in children. In: Christie M, French D, editors. Assessment of quality of life in childhood asthma. Chur: Harwood Academic Publishers; 1994.
- Reichenberg PJ, Godfrey S. Asthma and wheezing in children. London: Martin Dunitz; 2000.
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| Cite this article as: | | Boloursaz M R, Khalilzadeh S, Khodayari A A, Saebi M, Hakimi S, Velayati A A. Quality of Life in Asthmatic Children. Pediatr Oncall J. 2009;6: 51. |
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