Quality of life of young adults with congenital hypothyroidism.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the present study was to investigate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and the living conditions of young adults with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) detected on newborn screening.


METHODS
Among medical institutions that care for CH patients in Japan and were approached to in the present study, 78 institutions agreed to participate. The World Health Organization Quality of Life-26 (WHO/QOL-26) was used for measurement of HRQOL. CH patients who gave consent after receiving an explanation from their physicians filled in questionnaires at home and sent them by mail. This survey involved 51 CH patients (15 male; 36 female) whose mean age was 21.1 +/- 2.7 years (+/-SD; range, 18-27 years). The data from WHO/QOL-26 forms completed by 43 patients (12 male; 31 female) were compared with those for healthy individuals.


RESULTS
Mean WHO/QOL-26 scores were 3.51 +/- 0.43 for male patients and 3.59 +/- 0.42 for female patients, and there were no significant differences between them and healthy individuals (men, 3.32 +/- 0.42; women, 3.35 +/- 0.49). No significant difference was observed between patients and healthy individuals on any domain of the WHO/QOL-26. Their degree of educational attainment was not poor.


CONCLUSIONS
The HRQOL of young adults with CH detected on newborn screening was not poor.
Sunrise Children's Clinic, Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. hschiba@aol.com
Hirokazu
H
Sato
Nobue
N
Nakamura
Shohei
S
Harada
Naoko
N
Kakee
Nozomu
N
Sasaki
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires