This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Baker, A. L. Articles by Jenkins, K. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Baker, A. L. Articles by Jenkins, K. J. Related Collections Infectious Disease & Immunity Related AAP Red Book topics: Kawasaki Disease (Mucocutaneous... Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

PEDIATRICS Vol. 111 No. 3 March 2003, pp. 579-583

Physical and Psychosocial Health in Children Who Have Had Kawasaki Disease

Annette L. Baker, MSN, PNP^*, Kimberlee Gauvreau, ScD^*, Jane W. Newburger, MD, MPH^*, Robert P. Sundel, MD^*, David R. Fulton, MD^* and Kathy J. Jenkins, MD, MPH^*

^* From the Department of Cardiology, Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

--> Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine the physical and psychosocial well-being of children who have had Kawasaki disease (KD), including the influence of coronary artery status on health and health perceptions.

Methods. The Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) measures overall physical and psychosocial well-being in children 5 to 18 years. To study the long-term impact of KD on overall health status, we mailed the CHQ to patients without a history of coronary artery abnormalities (normal group), with regressed aneurysms (regressed group), with current coronary aneurysms <8 mm (mild-moderate aneurysm group), and with giant aneurysms 8 mm (giant group).

Results. Of 201 questionnaires mailed, 174 were delivered and 110 (63%) were completed. Median age (range) at completion was 10.5 years (5.1–17.9 years) and at illness onset was 3.1 years (0.2–12 years). There were no significant differences in psychosocial summary scores in any of the Kawasaki groups when compared with the US population sample. Physical summary scores were also similar to the US population sample in the normal coronary, mild-moderate aneurysm, and regressed aneurysm groups. However, the giant aneurysm group had significantly lower physical summary scores compared with the US population sample. Among subscales, general health perceptions in the KD groups were lower than in the US population sample, reaching statistical significance in all but the mild to moderate aneurysm group. In addition, parents whose children have had KD reported a higher proportion of anxiety issues, allergies, and orthopedic/bone/joint issues in their children than did the general US population sample. We did not find any difference in the incidence of attentional, behavioral, or learning issues when compared with the US population sample.

Conclusions. KD patients without coronary artery aneurysms were similar to the general population in their general physical and psychosocial health. However, the parents of children in all KD groups reported lower general health perceptions than parents in the US population sample, suggesting that long-term concerns about their children’s health exist regardless of overall health status. In addition, children with giant coronary artery aneurysms had lower overall physical summary scores.

Key Words: Kawasaki disease • Child Health Questionnaire • functional health status • quality of life

Abbreviations: KD, Kawasaki disease • CHQ, Child Health Questionnaire • JRA, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis • ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

---

Received for publication May 7, 2002; Accepted Sep 11, 2002.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?