title: Health Related Quality of Life of Children with Chronic Respiratory Conditions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the management of chronic diseases, treatment approaches have changed in recent decades. Not only are clinical outcomes assessed but also the patients' perception of their quality of life has become an important aspect.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) to the HRQoL of asthmatic patients, to assess the level of agreement between parent proxy-report and child self-report and to measure the relationship between spirometry and HRQoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  172 children (mean age: 11.61±2.56 years) and their parents completed the questionnaire. The Hungarian version of the Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM 4.0 (PedsQLTM 4.0) Generic Core Scale was used to assess HRQoL. Lung function was assessed via spirometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significantly lower PedsQLTM scores were measured for CF patients on the psychosocial health (p<0.05), emotional functioning (p<0.005) and school functioning (p<0.01) subscales and the total scale (p<0.05) from the children's self-report. The level of child-parent agreement was fair and moderate in both patient populations [intra-class correlation coefficient range (ICC) asthma=0.29-0.37; ICCCF=0.39-0.59, p<0.001]. The relationship between forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and the physical health subscale (r=0.49, p<0.01) was moderate in young (8-12 years) children and also teenagers (13-18 years), with CF (r=0.58, p<0.05) from self-report. We found weak, non-significant correlations between FEV1 and PedsQLTM subscales in children with asthma (8-12 years) (r=-0.01-0.18, ns.).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children suffering from CF perceive their HRQoL as poorer than children with asthma. In asthmatic patients, it is not sufficient to evaluate clinical outcomes (FEV1); subjective HRQoL should be also estimated in the course of patient care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Heim Pal Children's Hospital, Budapest, Hungary; University Pharmacy Institute of Pharmacy Administration, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Réka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bodnár
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Pulmonological Institute, Törökbálint, Hungary.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kádár
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Care Methodology, Institute of Health Science, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Szabó
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Heim Pal Children's Hospital, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Márton
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernádi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Heim Pal Children's Hospital, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Márió
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mikóczi
authors.affiliation: University Pharmacy Institute of Pharmacy Administration, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Ágnes
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Mészáros
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000367:Age Factors; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D010465:Perception; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D013147:Spirometry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires