Worse quality of life for children with newly diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, compared with asthmatic and healthy children.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of untreated children with newly diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), compared with asthmatic and healthy children.


METHODS
This prospective, case-control study included a group of 120 children, 6 to 12 years of age, with newly diagnosed ADHD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Subjects were matched according to age, gender, and health care area with 2 control groups, ie, 93 asthmatic children and 120 healthy children. Sociodemographic characteristics and Child Health Questionnaire scores were collected.


RESULTS
The QOL of children with ADHD was rated worse than that of asthmatic or healthy children for most Child Health Questionnaire domains. The greatest differences were found in behavior, social limitations attributable to physical problems, emotional impact on parents, and family activities. Almost every psychosocial domain was more affected in comparison with asthmatic children and both psychosocial and physical domains in comparison with healthy children.


CONCLUSIONS
ADHD interferes with the daily lives of children, parents, and families even more than asthma, primarily in areas related to psychosocial functioning, although evidence of impaired physical functioning also emerged. Delays in recognition, assessment, and management of ADHD may affect negatively the QOL of those children.
Escobar
Rodrigo
R
Lilly Research Laboratories, Alcobendas, Spain. escobar_rodrigo@lilly.com
Soutullo
Cesar A
CA
Hervas
Amaia
A
Gastaminza
Xavier
X
Polavieja
Pepa
P
Gilaberte
Inmaculada
I
D001249:Asthma; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; D002648:Child; D005195:Family Relations; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires