The PedsQL is a modular instrument designed to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children and adolescents ages 2-18. The PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales were developed to be integrated with the PedsQL Disease-Specific Modules. The PedsQL3.0 Asthma Module was designed to measure pediatric asthma-specific HRQOL. The PedsQL was administered to 529 families. Internal consistency reliability was demonstrated for the PedsQL 4.0 Total Score (alpha = 0.90 child, 0.91 parent report) and Asthma Module (average alpha = 0.71 child, 0.86 parent report). The PedsQL 4.0 distinguished between healthy children and children with asthma. The validity of the PedsQL Asthma Module was demonstrated through intercorrelations with a previously standardized asthma disease- specific instrument. Responsiveness was demonstrated through patient change over time as a result of clinical intervention. The results demonstrate the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the PedsQL required for an outcome measure in pediatric asthma clinical trials and research.

Future studies will need to develop adequate definitions of adherence, accurate methods of assessing adherence, and appropriate designs to evaluate multicomponent treatment programs to advance interventions to the "well-established" category.

OBJECTIVEMean blood glucose (MBG) and MBG-independent factors both influence A1C levels. Race was related to A1C independent of MBG in adults. The goal of this study was to determine if racial disparity exists in A1C independent of MBG in children with diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSParticipants included 276 children with type 1 diabetes. A1C and MBG were obtained from multiple clinic visits, and a hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) (an assessment of A1C levels independent of MBG) was calculated. A1C and HGI were analyzed controlling for age, diabetes duration, and MBG.RESULTSAfrican Americans had statistically significantly higher A1C (9.1 ± 0.1) and HGI (0.64 ± 0.11) than Caucasians (A1C 8.3 ± 0.1, HGI −0.15 ± 0.07) independent of covariates.CONCLUSIONSBecause of racial disparity in A1C, which is independent of MBG, we recommend that A1C and MBG be used together to make therapeutic decisions for children with diabetes.

This study examined relations between anxiety, aggression, social understanding, IQ, and diagnosis in a sample of 231 children (ages 2-9) diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs; Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) in a hospital setting. Children were administered tests of IQ, and parents completed measures of remaining variables. ASD diagnosis was associated with level of anxiety, and level of IQ explained this relation. IQ was significantly and positively associated with anxiety. Tests of a developmental model to explain the relation between IQ and anxiety showed that social understanding and aggression mediated the relation for toddlers. For preschool- and early elementary school-aged children, respectively, three-way interactions between IQ, social understanding, and aggression predicted anxiety, and graphs of the interactions suggest that the association between IQ and anxiety is increasingly driven by either aggression or social understanding over the course of childhood.