Health Related Quality of Life of Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life in pediatric patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Methods:An analytical cross-sectional study was performed. Pediatric patients suffering from Sickle Cell Disease below the age of 21 were compared with asymptomatic pediatric individuals. Clinical and demographic data were collected along with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL 4.0). Results:The sample was composed of 68 children and adolescents in the "Sickle cell group" and 44 in the "Comparison group". Children and adolescent with SCD had lower scores of health related quality of life compared with healthy subjects in the domains physical (68.3 versus 88.8), social (71.1 versus 90.7), and school functioning (60.2 versus 78.7). The domain emotional functioning was not significantly different (62.1 versus 66.5). Conclusion:The results of the present study demonstrated that children and adolescents with SCD had lower scores of quality of life in the domains activities, social and school functioning when compared to healthy pediatric individuals.

Sickle cell disease patients’ health‐related quality of life in the southern region of Saudi Arabia

“…This study assessed the HRQoL of SCD patients in two tertiary care hospitals in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia using the SF‐36. The participants had low scores for the eight subscales of the HRQoL items, which is consistent with previous studies on SCD patients 3,14,17‐19 . We found that gender affects the physical functioning score, as the female patients in our study exhibited better physical scores than the male patients.…”

“…The participants had low scores for the eight subscales of the HRQoL items, which is consistent with previous studies on SCD patients. 3,14,[17][18][19] We found that gender affects the physical functioning score, as the female patients in our study exhibited better physical scores than the male patients. This result conflicts with Ahmed et al's study conducted in Makka, Saudi Arabia, which suggests no significant difference between genders in the physical score of SCD patients.…”

“…The QoL of SCD patients is a great challenge for the affected individuals, their families and health care workers. Sickle cell disease is considered incurable and the only relief comes in the form of palliative care 14 . This study aims to estimate the HRQoL of patients with SCD in the southern region of Saudi Arabia, which should also highlight the factors associated with the QoL in this region.…”