title: Duchenne muscular dystrophy: quality of life among 95 patients evaluated using the Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in different stages of the disease, by means of the Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents (LSI-A). The practicality of this scale was also verified. The LSI-A was applied four times to 95 patients with DMD who were undergoing steroid therapy, at three-month intervals. The patients were divided into four groups according to age. The results from the four applications and the inter and intra-examiner concordance were treated statistically. Comparing the different age groups, patients with DMD did not lose QoL, even with disease progression. We concluded that, in spite of the progressive course of the disease, the QoL in patients with DMD does not get worse. The use of a scale that embraces a great diversity of circumstances in patients' lives, without considering clinical aspects excessively, is a good alternative for assessing the QoL of these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil. valdecirsimon@usp.br
authors.forename: Valdecir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Maria Bernardete Dutra
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Resende
authors.forename: Margarete A V P
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Edmar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zanoteli
authors.forename: Umbertina Conti
authors.initials: UC
authors.lastname: Reed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones