title: [Evaluation of quality of life in school children with a history of early severe malnutrition].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Severe malnutrition in young children may lead to long-term complications, in particular learning and psychosocial disorders linked to health related quality of life (HRQOL). The aim of this study was to evaluate HRQOL in children whit a history of severe malnutrition before 2 years of life, expecting to find lower scores in these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comparative study was performed on schoolchildren between 5 and 12 years with a history of early severe malnutrition, excluding those with chronic diseases. The Controls were healthy siblings of patients. The sample size was estimated as 26 subjects per group (Total=52). Sociodemographic variables were recorded and the HRQOL was assessed with PedsQL4.0. Chi square and Student t test were applied. Significance level: P<.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 25 patients and 28 controls were studied. The HRQOL scores obtained from PedsQL for children with history of malnutrition, compared with their healthy siblings, were: Total: 80.82±1.94 vs 89.18±1.84 P<.0001), physical health/dimension: 87.75±3.37 vs 94.75±1.87 (P<.0001), psychosocial health: 77.77±2.90 vs 86.57±1.42 (P<.0001), emotional dimension: 67.80±4.40 vs 78.75±2.96 (P<.0001), social dimension: 88.80±3.05 vs 95.71±1.52 (P<.0001), and school dimension: 74.58±3.80 vs 85.00±3.51 (P<.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with a history of early severe malnutrition, showed significantly lower HRQOL scores compared with controls.
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad, Córdoba, Argentina; Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. Electronic address: esdegrandis@msn.com.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: De Grandis
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Armelini
authors.affiliation: Hospital Privado INICSA-CONICET, Cátedra de Estadística Médica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cuestas
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Calidad de vida; Child development disorders; Child nutrition disorders; Discapacidades del desarrollo; Quality of life; Trastornos de la nutrición del niño