Quality of life in young adults with very low birth weight.
OBJECTIVE
To assess quality of life (QoL) in a group of young adults born in 1980-1982 with very low birth weight (VLBW) and to compare this with a reference group and a similar cohort born eight years earlier.


METHODS
Telephone interview using a fully structured questionnaire.


METHODS
Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit.


METHODS
VLBW group (n = 92, 90% participation rate), LBW group (n = 119, 86%), normal birth weight/reference group (n = 69, 75%).


METHODS
Objective and subjective QoL.


RESULTS
Objective QoL in the VLBW subgroup who did not report a handicap or chronic health problem was lower than in the reference group (median 0.79 v 0.84, p = 0.02). Objective QoL was 0.81 in the similar LBW subgroup whereas it was only 0.72 in the group of 13 VLBW and nine LBW subjects who reported a handicap or chronic health problem. Interestingly, subjective QoL did not differ between the VLBW subgroup and the reference group (median 0.87 v 0.88, p = 0.5). On comparing the VLBW subgroup in the 1980-1982 cohort with the similar VLBW subgroup in the 1971-1974 cohort, objective QoL had apparently increased.


CONCLUSIONS
The VLBW young adults had a lower objective QoL than the reference group, whereas the subjective QoL was similar. Objective QoL in Danish youngsters has apparently increased over the past eight years.
Dinesen
S J
SJ
Department of Neonatology, Rigshopitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
Greisen
G
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000465:Algorithms; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric