Quality of life among asthmatic children attending the Outpatient Clinic in Menoufia University Hospital

Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of asthmatic children and their parents and assess the effect of the disease on the QoL of their parents. Background Asthma is a public health problem that adversely affects different aspects of an individual's QoL. Childhood asthma is common in Egypt and is associated with repeated school absenteeism and hospital admission. The family and particularly the primary caregiver may face considerable burden. Participants and methods This is a case-control study carried out on 100 children with bronchial asthma, aged between 7 and 15 years, attending the Outpatient Clinic of the Pediatric Department of Menoufia University Hospital, and their primary caregivers. These children were compared with 100 control children whose diagnosis was free of bronchial asthma or any chronic diseases, as well as their primary caregivers. The following questionnaires were administered: the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Pediatric Asthma Caregiver's Quality of Life Questionnaire. In addition, the parents' socioeconomic level was determined. Results The scores of all parents and children in the study group were lower than the scores of controls. Parents' activity score and child's activity score were the most affected domains. There was significant relationship between the parents' score and child's score. The caregiver's and child's health-related QoL was significantly associated with each other. Age, sex, and socioeconomic status revealed no significant difference. Conclusion Childhood asthma significantly adversely affects the QoL of the affected children and their primary caregivers.