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Quality of life in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome
M Mellander1, L Berntsson, B Nilsson
1Department of Pediatric Cardiology, The Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Göteborg, University, Göteborg, Sweden. mats.mellander@vgregion.se
Aim:
To measure quality of life in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and their families.
Methods:
A questionnaire exploring socioeconomic status, structure and function of networks and psychological well-being was completed by the families of all 18 patients older than 2 years (age range 2.7-10.6). The results were compared with those of 180 healthy Swedish children matched for age and sex.
Results:
There were no significant differences between the groups in any of the aspects of socioeconomic status. Study group parents had not more available time for their child (p < 0.05) and more separations/divorces (p < 0.01). The patients had lower self-esteem (p < 0.05), more psychosomatic symptoms (p < 0.01) [corrected] and lower peer acceptance (p < 0.01) than control children.
Conclusion:
With regard to psychological well-being, quality of life was significantly lower in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome than in healthy controls.
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