title: Longitudinal use of the Child Health Questionnaire in childhood cerebral palsy.
abstract: This study sought to describe change and stability in health-related quality of life (HRQL) over time in a cross-section of children with cerebral palsy (CP) using the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) through repeated surveys of the children's parents/caregivers. A total of 177 children with CP (98 males, 79 females); age range 3 to 18 years (mean age 8 y 6 mo, [SD 4 y 2 mo]; Gross Motor Function Classification System: Level I 40%, Level II 14%, Level III 14%, Level IV 16%, and Level V 17%) were enrolled as a convenience sample from the outpatient clinics at a tertiary-care children's hospital. The main outcome measure was HRQL as determined by the CHQ--Parent Form 50. Parents reported reduced HRQL for their children with CP relative to norms for the CHQ. Although Role--Physical functioning (reflecting how physical impairment interferes with daily activity) declined with time, all other subscales of the CHQ were stable over the course of 1 year. CHQ scores were not measurably affected by common medical interventions. Children with CP have lower CHQ scores than other children that are, on average, stable over the course of 1 year.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation, Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. jilda.vargus-adams@cchmc.org
authors.forename: Jilda
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vargus-Adams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires