Health-related quality of life among children with mental health problems: a population-based approach.
BACKGROUND
Children with mental health problems have been neglected in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) studies. Therefore, the aims of the current study were 1) to assess the influence of the presence of mental or physical health problems on HRQOL; and 2) to analyze the effects of item overlap between mental health problems and HRQOL-measurements.


METHODS
Proxy- and self-rated HRQOL (KIDSCREEN-27) of children 9-14 years old was assessed across children with mental health problems (n = 535), children with physical health problems (n = 327), and healthy controls (n = 744). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted with health status, severity of symptoms, status of medication use, gender and nationality as independent, and HRQOL scores as dependent variables. The effects of item overlap were analyzed by repeating regression analyses while excluding those HRQOL items that contextually overlapped the most frequently-occurring mental health problem (attention deficits).


RESULTS
Severity of symptoms was the strongest predictor of reduced HRQOL. However, all other predictors (except for the status of medication use) also contributed to the prediction of some HRQOL scores. Controlling for item overlap did not meaningfully alter the results.


CONCLUSIONS
When children with different health constraints are compared, the severity of their particular health problems should be considered. Furthermore, item overlap seems not to be a major problem when the HRQOL of children with mental health problems is studied. Hence, HRQOL assessments are useful to gather information that goes beyond the clinical symptoms of a health problem. This information can, for instance, be used to improve clinical practice.
Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Zurich, Hirschengraben 84, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland. michelle.dey@uzh.ch
Michelle
M
Dey
Meichun
M
Mohler-Kuo
Markus A
MA
Landolt
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012572:School Health Services; D057566:Self Report; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013557:Switzerland