Health-related quality of life in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: agreement between parents and their sons

J Child Neurol. 2010 Oct;25(10):1188-94. doi: 10.1177/0883073809357624. Epub 2010 Oct 12.

Abstract

This study investigated agreement between boys and their parents when reporting on health-related quality of life and the effects of steroid use, age, and physical functioning on self-reported health-related quality of life in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ and brief functional measures were administered to 35 parent-son dyads. We found that agreement between parents and their sons was moderate (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC](2,1) = 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40-0.80) to poor (ICC(2,1) = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.43-0.64). The boys' self-reports revealed a relationship between disease progression and physical functioning (r = -.75; P = .01); however, disease stage was not related to psychosocial functioning (r = -.27; NS). Parents and boys affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy have a moderate to poor agreement on health-related quality of life measures, with parents reporting lower overall health-related quality of life when compared with their sons.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Caregivers / psychology*
  • Caregivers / trends
  • Child
  • Female
  • Health Status*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / psychology*
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / rehabilitation
  • Parents / psychology*
  • Quality of Life / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires / standards*