Parents' quality of life and respiratory symptoms in young children with mild wheeze

Abstract

, on behalf of the EASE study group Parents9 quality of life and respiratory symptoms in young children with mild wheeze. L.M. Osman, A.D.G. Baxter-Jones, P.J. Helms, on behalf of the EASE study group. #ERS Journals Ltd 2001. ABSTRACT: The Paediatric Asthma Caregiver9s Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ), measures the impact of child asthma symptoms on family activity (CGAct) and parental anxiety (CGEmot). It has not been validated for families of children v7 yrs, with wheezing illness. This study assessed the sensitivity of the PACQLQ to symptom change in 62 preschool children with wheezing illness. The median age of children was 3 yrs (range 0.8 -6 yrs). At entry and 3-month follow-up, parents recorded child respiratory symptoms in a 1-month diary and completed the PACQLQ. On average, children in the study had 7 symptomatic days per month.On entry, mothers ¡30 yrs had worse scores than those w30 (pv0.02), and mothers in less affluent socioeconomic groups had worse scores than those in higher groups (p~0.05). Change in symptom scores and symptom free days between entry and followup was associated with change in PACQLQ scores (r~0.54 -0.57, pv0.001). Thirtythree parents had absolute change in PACQLQ of v0.5 over three months (which has been previously defined as not being clinically significant). Compared to parents with higher PACQLQ change, parents with PACQLQ scores v0.5, did not differ in frequency of child symptoms or in social-demographic factors, but had better quality of life scores on entry to the study (pv0.01).It is concluded that the Paediatric Asthma Caregiver9s Quality of Life Questionnaire is sensitive to group measures of child symptom change over 3 months, among preschool children, and this supports its use as an outcome measure in clinical trials. The absolute impact of child symptoms on parent quality of life varies among parents.

Factors That Influence Quality of Life in Rural Children With Asthma and Their Parents

“…For parents of children with asthma a decreased quality of life is related to missed workdays, limited activities, inadequate sleep, frequent night awakenings and decreased emotional health. In addition, several studies have also indicated a negative relationship between symptom frequency and parental quality of life scores (Halterman et al, 2004;Osman, Baxter-Jones & Helms, 2001) The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between child and parental quality of life and to describe the relationship among several factors such as demographic variables, asthma severity, missed days of work, asthma education and quality of life in rural children with asthma and their parents/caregivers. Data on quality of life were collected as part of a larger study funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), NIH (NR05062) to evaluate the effectiveness of a school based asthma education intervention for rural elementary school age children with asthma (Butz et al, 2005).…”

Risk Factors Affecting Quality of Life in a Group of Italian Children with Asthma

“…A possible explanation is that older children are more aware of their illness and can better manage it, and older mothers become more practical and experienced. Furthermore, older mothers instil greater confidence in their children, encouraging them to participate in activities with their peers (27,34).The principal limitation ofthis study is the small number of participants selected from a single outpatient setting. Consequently, we are unable to make generalizations about the findings of this study.…”

CUF, a herbal formula for the treatment of asthma: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the treatment of childhood asthma

“…It has also been associated with poor school performance, low self-image of patients, and disruption of family life [5,6]. Moreover, the quality of life of parents was also affected [7].…”