Parent-Reported Quality of Life of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Preliminary Study

Objective: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common significant motor impairment in childhood. Studies on the quality of life (QOL) of children with CP are limited. The aim of this study was to describe parent-reported QOL of children with CP and to investigate the factors that influence it. QOL was measured using the Turkish version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Methods: The study sample consisted of children who applied to the outpatient Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Department of The Sami Ulus Child Hospital between June 2008 and December 2008 and were diagnosed as having CP. Medical and developmental history of children was obtained from their parents. The physical evaluation of CP patients was made by the second author. The primary caregivers were asked to fill out the PedsQL parent proxy report, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Data were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.5. Results: A total of 37 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 5.3 +/- 3.3years and of the primary caregivers (parents) was 29.5 +/- 4.9. When the factors that influence the PedsQL scores were analyzed, a statistically significant inverse correlation of BDI and BAI scores was found only with Physical Health Total Score, Psychosocial Health Total Score and Total Scale Score. Conclusion: The results of our study indicate that QOL of children with CP was influenced only by the mental status of the primary caregivers (parents); no statistically significant correlation was found between the other variables and the PedsQL scores. Furthermore, larger study samples of children with CP from different social and economic levels are needed in order to generalize the results of this study. (Archives of Neuropsychiatry 2010; 47: 127-32)