title: Implications of parent and child quality of life assessments for decisions about growth hormone treatment in eligible children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine differences between parents and children in ratings of child health-related quality of life (HRQL) prior to growth hormone treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  HRQL measures were collected from 144 children and their caregivers. Inclusion criteria were aged between 10 and 16 years, diagnosed with Turner's syndrome, acquired or idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (AGHD or IGHD) and eligible to begin human GH treatment (GHT), or non-growth hormone deficient (GHD) short stature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents rated children to have poorer physical and psychosocial HRQL than children rated themselves. Differences depended on the measure used. Parents rated children with IGHD and non-GHD short stature better than children rated themselves, but they rated children with AGHD or Turner's much worse than children rated themselves in terms of physical but not psychosocial functioning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Decisions to prescribe GHT should include children's perspectives of HRQL whenever possible. Differences between parents and children are most likely in conditions that involve more complex medical needs (AGHD and Turner's). Generic and disease-specific HRQL measures may vary in sensitivity to HRQL differences between groups. More work is required to evaluate HRQL among younger children.
authors.affiliation: Child and Family Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Otero
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eiser
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Butler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D004393:Dwarfism, Pituitary / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006304:Health Status; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000172:deficiency*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014424:Turner Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D013006:Growth Hormone
keywords: growth hormone treatment; health-related quality of life; parenting; proxy raters; short stature