Predicting children's quality of life in an asthma clinical trial: what do children's reports tell us?
OBJECTIVE
To define predictors of disease-specific quality of life (QOL) and the relationship between asthma symptoms and disease-specific QOL.


METHODS
Three hundred thirty-nine children participated at 4 of 8 Childhood Asthma Management Program clinical centers. Included in the analyses were 2 weeks of asthma symptom data, child-reported health status, and QOL scores from the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire. Data were obtained 12 months after randomization into the Childhood Asthma Management Program.


RESULTS
Children were rated at baseline as having "moderate" asthma (63%) and "mild" asthma (37%). QOL scores were correlated with the child-reported anxiety measures. Factor analysis of the QOL measure resulted in 2 factors. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that the strongest independent predictors of QOL were the child's anxiety level, age, sex, and a measure of the child's tendency to minimize or exaggerate symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
Children had few asthma symptoms in the 2 weeks before their 12-month follow-up clinic visit and a generally positive QOL, suggesting that mild-to-moderate asthma does not significantly impair QOL. A child's QOL was predicted primarily by their level of anxiety.
Annett
R D
RD
Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131-5311, USA.
Bender
B G
BG
Lapidus
J
J
Duhamel
T R
TR
Lincoln
A
A
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014888:Wechsler Scales