The Quality of Life of Children Under Chiropractic Care Using PROMIS-25: Results from a Practice-Based Research
Joel Alcantara1,2, Andrea E Lamont3,4, Jeanne Ohm1,5
11 The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association , Media, PA.
Insights
Pediatric chiropractic care, involving spinal adjustments, improved children's quality of life (QoL). This study found reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference in children receiving chiropractic treatment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric chiropractic care
- Quality of Life research
- Musculoskeletal health
Background:
- Chiropractic care is sought by children for various health concerns.
- Limited research characterizes pediatric chiropractic patients and their outcomes.
- Assessing pediatric quality of life (QoL) is crucial for understanding treatment effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize children receiving chiropractic care.
- To assess the impact of chiropractic care on pediatric quality of life.
- To identify factors influencing QoL outcomes in pediatric chiropractic patients.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study across US chiropractic offices.
- Convenience sample of 881 children (8-17 years) and their parents.
- Utilized the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)-25 to measure QoL domains including depression, anxiety, and pain interference.
Main Results:
- Children receiving chiropractic care showed significant improvements across all QoL domains.
- Specifically, children reported less depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference post-treatment.
- These improvements were observed after controlling for covariates like motivation for care and number of visits.
Conclusions:
- Chiropractic care positively impacts pediatric quality of life.
- PROMIS-25 is an effective tool for measuring QoL changes in children undergoing chiropractic treatment.
- Further research can explore specific chiropractic interventions and long-term outcomes.
Objectives:
To characterize pediatric chiropractic and assess pediatric quality of life (QoL).
Design:
A prospective cohort. Setting/Locations: Individual offices within a practice-based research network located throughout the United States.
Subjects:
A convenience sample of children (8-17 years) under chiropractic care and their parents.
Exposure:
Chiropractic spinal adjustments and adjunctive therapies.
Outcome Measures:
Survey instrument measuring sociodemographic information and correlates from the clinical encounter along with the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)-25 to measure QoL (i.e., depression, anxiety, and pain interference). Sociodemographic and clinical correlates were analyzed using descriptive statistics (i.e., frequencies/percentages, means, and standard deviations). The PROMIS-25 data were analyzed using scoring manuals, converting raw scores to T score metric (mean = 50; SD = 10). A generalized linear mixed model was utilized to examine covariates (i.e., sex, number of visits, and motivation for care) that may have played an important role on the PROMIS outcome.
Results:
The original data set consisted of 915 parent-child dyads. After data cleaning, a total of 881 parents (747 females, 134 males; mean age = 42.03 years) and 881 children (467 females and 414 males; mean age = 12.49 years) comprised this study population. The parents were highly educated and presented their child for mainly wellness care. The mean number of days and patient visits from baseline to comparative QoL measures was 38.12 days and 2.74 (SD = 2.61), respectively. After controlling for the effects of motivation for care, patient visits, duration of complaint, sex, and pain rating, significant differences were observed in the probability of experiencing problems (vs. no reported problems) across all QoL domains (Wald = 82.897, df = 4, p < 0.05). Post hoc comparisons demonstrated the children were less likely to report any symptoms of depression (Wald = 6.1474, df = 1, p < 0.05), anxiety (Wald = 20.603, df = 1, p < 0.05), fatigue (Wald = 22.191, df = 1, p < 0.05), and pain interference (Wald = 47.422, df = 1, p < 0.05) after a trial of chiropractic care.
Conclusions:
The QoL of children improved with chiropractic care as measured by PROMIS.
