Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

This study examined the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) compared with physically healthy children and the impact of IBD and steroidal side-effects on children's HRQOL. The HRQOL of 49 children and adolescents (ages 10 to 18 years) with IBD and their parents who completed the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ; Landgraf & Abetz, 1997; Landgraf, Abetz, & Ware, 1996) was compared to that of a sample of physically healthy children (N = 49). Caregivers of children with IBD reported that their children's physical and psychological health were more limited and that they experienced more emotional worry and greater impact on their personal time compared to caregivers reporting on healthy same-age children. Children and adolescents reported worse HRQOL than physically healthy children in only one domain: general health. Children and adolescents with more IBD-related and steroidal symptoms had less adequate HRQOL as reported by their parents. Limitations in HRQOL were most pronounced in children who experienced more frequent IBD-related symptoms together with symptoms of steroidal side effects.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the patients and families who participated in this study and without whom this study would not have been possible, and the pediatric gastroenterologists with whom I have worked for many years, including Dr. Fred Rothstein, Dr. Timothy Boyle, Dr. Barbara Kaplan, and Dr. Thomas Taxman. We also thank Samantha Cox for her work on this study as well as Stephen Nipple and Susan Wood for their outstanding work in preparing this article.

Notes

^a N = 49.

^b N = 49.

^a N = 49.

^b N = 49.

^a N = 22.

^b N = 26.

^a N = 22.

^b N = 20.