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Updated: Jul 13, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Health outcome measurements in children with sleep disordered breathing
C Georgalas1, H Babar-Craig, A Arora
1Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, UK. cgeorgalas1@yahoo.co.uk
Insights
The Child Health Questionnaire accurately measures quality of life in children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Surgery significantly improved quality of life for these children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Sleep Medicine
- Quality of Life Research
Background:
- Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) significantly impacts children's quality of life.
- Validating assessment tools is crucial for understanding this impact.
Purpose of the Study:
- Validate the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ-PF28) for use in children with OSA.
- Measure the quality of life in children diagnosed with OSA.
- Assess the impact of adenotonsillectomy on their quality of life.
Main Methods:
- The CHQ-PF28 was administered to primary carers of 42 children with sleep-disordered breathing.
- 37 children were diagnosed with OSA via overnight pulse oximetry and underwent adenotonsillectomy.
- Questionnaire data underwent rigorous analysis for validity and reliability.
Main Results:
- The CHQ-PF28 demonstrated excellent psychometric properties in this pediatric population.
- Children with OSA experienced significant quality of life deficits across 10 CHQ-PF28 subscales.
- No correlation was found between OSA severity and quality of life, but significant improvements were observed post-surgery.
Conclusions:
- The CHQ-PF28 is a valid and reliable tool for assessing quality of life in British children with OSA.
- OSA significantly affects multiple aspects of a child's life.
- Adenotonsillectomy effectively reverses these quality of life deficits.
Objective:
To validate the Child Health Questionnaire, measure quality of life in children with obstructive sleep apnoea and assess the impact of surgery.
Methods:
The primary carer of a consecutive series of 42 patients with sleep disordered breathing referred to a paediatric otolaryngology clinic completed the Child Health Questionnaire (version PF 28). Questionnaires were analysed for data quality and completeness, item/scale correlation, internal consistency and discriminant validity, interscale correlation and reliability. Following overnight pulse oximetry 37 children were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea and underwent adenotonsillectomy.
Results:
Child Health Questionnaire Physical Functioning 28 demonstrated excellent measuring characteristics in our population. Compared with normative data, children with obstructive sleep apnoea and their carers suffer a significant quality of life deficit, involving 10 of 13 subscales of the Child Health Questionnaire. This was most prominent in parental emotional impact, general health perception and family activities. There was no correlation between the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea and quality of life indices. Following surgery, there was a significant improvement in all Child Health Questionnaire subscales, which became equivalent to healthy children.
Conclusion:
The Child Health Questionnaire Physical Functioning 28 is an accurate and reliable way of assessing the impact of obstructive sleep apnoea on the quality of life in children in Britain. This appears to be significant in most aspects of a child's life, but is fully reversed following surgery.
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