title: Quality of life in children with asthma in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of asthma on activity limitation, symptoms and emotional function in the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of asthmatic children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study involving 59 children of 7 to 12 y of age. A standardized version of the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to evaluate HRQL and the current criteria for socioeconomic stratification in Brazil were used to assess socioeconomic status. Independent variables evaluated included clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. The association between mean HRQL scores and the independent variables was evaluated using the Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests. Statistical significance was defined as a p-value < 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-two families (56.1 %) had a total household income of more than two minimum wages, while 37 families (62.7 %) were considered lower middle class. Mean overall HRQL score was 4.8 ± 1.3 (out of a maximum score of 7), suggesting reasonable HRQL. There was a weak association between independent variables and mean overall HRQL scores and the mean scores in the emotional function domain. Higher socioeconomic status was related to higher scores for the symptoms domain (p = 0.041). Furthermore, children exposed to indoor mould reported greater impairment in the symptoms domain(p = 0.022). The severity of asthma was associated with the activity limitation domain (p = 0.025).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results showed a reasonable mean HRQL score and an association between the severity of asthma and the activity limitation domain.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. patigsouza2000@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gomes de Souza
authors.forename: Clemax
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Couto Sant'anna
authors.forename: Maria de Fátima
authors.initials: Mde F
authors.lastname: B Pombo March
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population