Clinical severity and quality of life in children and adolescents with Rett syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
The clinical features and genetics of Rett syndrome (RTT) have been well studied, but examination of quality of life (QOL) is limited. This study describes the impact of clinical severity on QOL among female children and adolescents with classic RTT.


METHODS
Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted on data collected from an NIH-sponsored RTT natural history study. More than 200 participants from 5 to 18 years of age with classic RTT finished their 2-year follow-up at the time of analysis. Regression models after adjustment for their MECP2 mutation type and age at enrollment were used to examine the association between clinical status and QOL.


RESULTS
Severe clinical impairment was highly associated with poor physical QOL, but worse motor function and earlier age at onset of RTT stereotypies were associated with better psychosocial QOL; conversely, better motor function was associated with poorer psychosocial QOL.


CONCLUSIONS
Standard psychosocial QOL assessment for children and adolescents with RTT differs significantly with regard to their motor function severity. As clinical trials in RTT emerge, the Child Health Questionnaire 50 may represent one of the important outcome measures.
University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, USA.
J B
JB
Lane
H-S
HS
Lee
L W
LW
Smith
P
P
Cheng
A K
AK
Percy
D G
DG
Glaze
J L
JL
Neul
K J
KJ
Motil
J O
JO
Barrish
S A
SA
Skinner
F
F
Annese
L
L
McNair
J
J
Graham
O
O
Khwaja
K
K
Barnes
J P
JP
Krischer
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D051783:Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2 / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015518:Rett Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
C497392:MECP2 protein, human; D051783:Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2