Health-related quality of life in migrant preschool children

Abstract

BackgroundMinority groups have a lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL), but there is little information if this finding also applies to children. In this study, we compared HRQOL between young children with and without migrant parents.MethodsTwo cross-sectional studies of culturally diverse preschool populations in Switzerland: Ballabeina (40 preschools, 258 girls and 232 boys aged 4 to 6 years) and Youp’là Bouge (58 child care centers, 453 girls and 522 boys aged 2 to 4 years). Most children were born in Switzerland (Ballabeina: 92.3%; Youp’là Bouge: 93.7%). Number of migrant parents was considered as the main exposure. HRQOL was measured using the 23-item Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory.ResultsChildren of migrant parents had a significantly lower HRQOL total score (mean ± SD, Ballabeina: 84.2 ± 9.1; 82.7 ± 9.6 and 81.7 ± 11.7 for children with none, one or two migrant parents, respectively; Youp’là Bouge: 83.8 ± 8.6; 82.9 ± 9.5; 80.7 ± 11.7, all p < 0.05). Similar results were found in Ballabeina and Youp’là Bouge for social, school and physical functioning (all p < 0.05), but not for emotional functioning. The differences in HRQOL measures were partly mediated by children’s place of birth, parental education, paternal occupational level, children’s BMI, screen time and physical activity in one study (Ballabeina), but not in the other (Youp’là Bouge).ConclusionIn preschoolers, children of migrant parents have lower HRQOL than children of non-migrant parents. These differences are only partly mediated by other sociocultural characteristics or lifestyle behavior. These families may need assistance to prevent further inequalities.

Quality of Life and Meeting 24-h WHO Guidelines Among Preschool Children in Singapore

“…Few studies have examined the relationship between health-related quality of life and screen media use among preschool children. Among the few, Puder et al (2013) reported that when compared to non-migrant preschool children, preschool children from migrant families living in two different regions in Switzerland, have significantly lower PedsQL™ total score, in one region but not in the other. Importantly, Puder et al (2013) reported that the most relevant confounders of their findings were parental education, paternal occupation, child screen time and child BMI.…”

“…Among the few, Puder et al (2013) reported that when compared to non-migrant preschool children, preschool children from migrant families living in two different regions in Switzerland, have significantly lower PedsQL™ total score, in one region but not in the other. Importantly, Puder et al (2013) reported that the most relevant confounders of their findings were parental education, paternal occupation, child screen time and child BMI. The screen time reported for children aged 5-7 years was 31 ± 30, 37 ± 35 and 52 ± 49 min per day, respectively for families with both parents who were non-migrants, one parent and both parents who were migrants.…”

HRQoL impact of stressful life events in children beginning primary school: results of a prospective study in Poland

“…Studies on migrant preschool children living in Switzerland [53] and in Germany [54] proved that exposure to traumatic stimuli in a new living environment can have a significant negative impact on their HRQoL and well-being.…”

Psychosocial Quality-of-Life, Lifestyle and Adiposity: A Longitudinal Study in Pre-schoolers (Ballabeina Study)

“…Also, studies reporting the QOL-adiposity relation in children are predominantly cross-sectional [26][27][28]. Longitudinal studies are warranted to elucidate psychosocial QOL-related changes in adiposity since the opposite direction might also be true, i.e.…”

“…Most studies on the association between QOL and adiposity in children were cross-sectional [26], some of them found an inverse relation and some of them found no significant relation. Also, in preschoolers, the cross-sectional association between adiposity and QOL has been described [27,28] with overweight children having a lower school and social QOL. Nevertheless, the few longitudinal studies conducted in children and adolescents did not reveal clear effects of QOL on adiposity.…”