Parent-reported health-related quality of life in children with congenital hearing loss: a population study.
OBJECTIVE
To report 1) health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in 7- to 8-year-old children with congenital hearing loss and 2) effects of severity and age of diagnosis on parent-reported child HRQoL.


METHODS



METHODS
State of Victoria, Australia.


METHODS
Two population-based cohorts of 7- to 8-year-old children.


METHODS
Cohort 1 consisted of 83 children (51 boys) fitted with hearing aids or cochlear implants for congenital hearing loss by 4.5 years, born before universal newborn hearing screening, and without intellectual disability (the Children with Hearing Impairment in Victoria OUTCOME Study). Cohort 2 consisted of 895 children representative of the Victorian 7- to 8-year-old school population (the 1997 Health of Young Victorians Study).


RESULTS
The 28-item parent-proxy Child Health Questionnaire measure of HRQoL.


RESULTS
Response rate for cohort 1 was 67%; 22% had mild, 33% had moderate, 17% had severe, and 29% had profound hearing loss; and the mean nonverbal IQ was 105.4 (SD = 16.5). Children with hearing loss scored significantly more poorly than the normative sample on 6 Child Health Questionnaire scales (Role/Social-Physical, Behavior, Mental Health, Parent Impact-Emotional, Parent Impact-Time, and Family Activities) and on the Psychosocial Summary Score. HRQoL was poorer with milder losses, accounting for 10% and 11% of variance in the Physical and Psychosocial Summary scores, respectively. Age at diagnosis did not contribute significantly to the Summary scores, but only 11 children were diagnosed <6 months of age.


CONCLUSIONS
Parent-reported psychosocial well-being of 7- to 8-year-old children with hearing loss is poorer than that of their hearing peers. Future studies should determine whether HRQoL has improved after introduction of universal newborn hearing screening.
Wake
Melissa
M
Centre for Community Child Health (University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute), Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. melissa.wake@rch.org.au
Hughes
Elizabeth K
EK
Collins
Christy M
CM
Poulakis
Zeffie
Z
D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000151:congenital*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria