Published online August 31, 2005
PEDIATRICS Vol. 116 No. 3 September 2005, pp. e364-e369 (doi:10.1542/peds.2005-0386)

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ELECTRONIC ARTICLE

Worse Quality of Life for Children With Newly Diagnosed Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Compared With Asthmatic and Healthy Children

Rodrigo Escobar, MD^*, Cesar A. Soutullo, MD, PhD, Amaia Hervas, MD, Xavier Gastaminza, MD^||, Pepa Polavieja, BSc^* and Inmaculada Gilaberte, MD^*

^* Lilly Research Laboratories, Alcobendas, Spain
Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, University Clinic, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
Mutua de Tarrasa Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
^|| Department of Psychiatry, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain

Objective. To evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of untreated children with newly diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), compared with asthmatic and healthy children.

Methods. This prospective, case-control study included a group of 120 children, 6 to 12 years of age, with newly diagnosed ADHD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Subjects were matched according to age, gender, and health care area with 2 control groups, ie, 93 asthmatic children and 120 healthy children. Sociodemographic characteristics and Child Health Questionnaire scores were collected.

Results. The QOL of children with ADHD was rated worse than that of asthmatic or healthy children for most Child Health Questionnaire domains. The greatest differences were found in behavior, social limitations attributable to physical problems, emotional impact on parents, and family activities. Almost every psychosocial domain was more affected in comparison with asthmatic children and both psychosocial and physical domains in comparison with healthy children.

Conclusions. ADHD interferes with the daily lives of children, parents, and families even more than asthma, primarily in areas related to psychosocial functioning, although evidence of impaired physical functioning also emerged. Delays in recognition, assessment, and management of ADHD may affect negatively the QOL of those children.

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Key Words: quality of life • attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder • asthma

Abbreviations: ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder • CHQ, Child Health Questionnaire • CI, confidence interval • HRQOL, health-related quality of life • QOL, quality of life

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Accepted Apr 8, 2005.

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