Article

The purpose of this paper is to describe the course of the
health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) of children with cerebral palsy (CP)
between the ages of 2.5 and 4.5 years, at both group and individual level. We
also examined whether CP characteristics are helpful in understanding which
children show a decrease in HR-QoL. METHODS: HR-QoL of 72 children with CP was
measured using the TNO-AZL Preschool children Quality of Life (TAPQOL)
questionnaire at the ages of 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 years. The course of HR-QoL was
compared between groups with different CP characteristics. RESULTS: Median scores
for 10 of the 12 domains of the TAPQOL were found to be stable between ages 2.5
and 4.5 years. However, individual children showed great changes in HR-QoL at
these ages, for all domains. A larger proportion of children with less severe CP
showed a decrease in HR-QoL for the behaviour problems domain (p = 0.02), and a
larger proportion of unilaterally affected children showed a decrease in HR-QoL
regarding the anxiety (p < 0.001) and social functioning (p = 0.01) domains.
CONCLUSIONS: Although the median HR-QoL of children with CP is generally stable
at these ages, much variation in the course of HR-QoL exists between individual
children. There is no clear association between motor functioning or limb
distribution and a decrease in HR-QoL.

Langue : ANGLAIS