Evaluation of quality of life in schoolchildren with a history of early severe malnutrition

Introduction: Severe malnutrition in young children may lead to long-term complications, in particular learning and psychosocial disorders linked to health related quality of life (HRQOL). The aim of this study was to evaluate HRQOL in children whit a history of severe malnutrition before 2 years of life, expecting to find lower scores in these patients. Materials and methods: A comparative study was performed on schoolchildren between 5 and 12 years with a history of early severe malnutrition, excluding those with chronic diseases. The Controls were healthy siblings of patients. The sample size was estimated as 26 subjects per group (Total = 52). Sociodemographic variables were recorded and the HRQOL was assessed with PedsQL4.0. Chi square and Student t test were applied. Significance level: P < .05. Results: A total of 25 patients and 28 controls were studied. The HRQOL scores obtained from PedsQL for children with history of malnutrition, compared with their healthy siblings, were: Total: 80.82 ± 1.94 vs 89.18 ± 1.84 (P < .0001), physical health/dimension: 87.75 ± 3.37 vs 94.75 ± 1.87 (P < .0001), psychosocial health: 77.77 ± 2.90 vs 86.57 ± 1.42 (P < .0001), emotional dimension: 67.80 ± 4.40 vs 78.75 ± 2.96 (P < .0001), social dimension: 88.80 ± 3.05 vs 95.71 ± 1.52 (P < .0001), and school dimension: 74.58 ± 3.80 vs 85.00 ± 3.51 (P < .0001). Conclusions: Patients with a history of early severe malnutrition, showed significantly lower HRQOL scores compared with controls.