Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 14, 2026
Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
Quality of life in children with chronic kidney disease
John Dotis1,2, Antigoni Pavlaki3, Nikoleta Printza3
1First Department of Pediatrics, Hippokration Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. yandot@med.auth.gr.
Insights
Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience reduced physical well-being but improved social acceptance in early school years. Addressing quality of life (QoL) is crucial for optimal pediatric patient care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Quality of Life Research
- Child Health Outcomes
Background:
- Progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) significantly impacts children's quality of life (QoL) due to demanding medical regimens.
- The etiology of CKD does not appear to be a primary determinant of QoL impact in pediatric patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the quality of life (QoL) in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing treatment.
- To compare QoL dimensions between pediatric patients with CKD, those who have undergone renal transplantation (RT), and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- The Greek version of the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire was administered to assess QoL.
- Study participants included children aged 8–18 with CKD (n=25), RT (n=16), and ESRD on peritoneal dialysis (PD) (n=14).
- Comparisons were made against a control group (CG, n=55), a validation sample (VS, n=1200), and parent proxy scores.
Main Results:
- Children with CKD, RT, or ESRD reported significantly lower physical well-being compared to healthy controls (p=0.004).
- Children aged 8–11 with CKD demonstrated higher social acceptance than the validation sample (p=0.0001).
- Discrepancies were noted between children's and parent proxy QoL reports in areas like self-perception, autonomy, school environment, and financial resources.
Conclusions:
- Physical well-being is significantly affected in children with CKD, irrespective of disease stage.
- Children with CKD may experience enhanced social acceptance during early school years.
- Comprehensive pediatric patient care necessitates integrating QoL assessments alongside medical management to improve overall health outcomes.
Background:
Progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD), irrespective of the underlying etiology, affects the quality of life (QoL) of children due to the need for regular follow-up visits, a strict medication program and diet intake.
Methods:
The Greek version of the KIDSCREEN-52 multidimensional questionnaire was used in children with CKD, renal transplantation (RT) and in a control group (CG) of healthy children.
Results:
Fifty-five patients between 8 and 18 years, with CKD (n = 25), RT (n = 16) and with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on peritoneal dialysis (PD) (n = 14) were included. Each group of studied children was compared with the CG (n = 55), the validation sample (VS) (n = 1200) and the parent proxy scores. Physical well-being of all studied children was significantly lower compared to CG (p = 0.004). In contrast, all studied children between 8 and 11 years showed better social acceptance compared to VS (p = 0.0001). When QoL of children with CKD was compared with parent proxy QoL, conflicting opinions were observed in several dimensions, such as self-perception (p = 0.023), autonomy (p = 0.012), school environment (p = 0.012) and financial resources (p = 0.03).
Conclusions:
QoL and mainly the dimension of physical well-being, may be affected dramatically in children with CKD unrelated to disease stage. In early school years children with CKD seem to feel higher social acceptance than the healthy controls, exhibiting better score in this dimension. Optimal care requires attention not only to medical management, but also to an assessment of QoL factors, that may help promote pediatric patient's health.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Chronic Kidney Disease III: Interprofessional Care
01:18Chronic Kidney Disease IV: Nursing Management
01:24Chronic Kidney Disease II: Clinical Manifestations
01:25Chronic Kidney Disease I: Introduction
01:29Acute Kidney Injury III: Clinical Manifestations
01:17Factors Affecting Renal Clearance: Renal Impairment
One condition associated with renal failure is uremia. Uremia is characterized by impaired glomerular filtration and fluid accumulation in the body. This condition hinders the renal clearance of drugs, resulting in drug accumulation and potential...