Asthma and Health Related Quality of Life in Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

Asthma is the most frequent chronic disorder in childhood. Asthma puts a serious burden on children’s health related quality of life, despite the availability of effective and safe treatment (Dalheim-Englund et al., 2004; Global Initiative for Asthma, 2010; Masoli et al., 2004; Mohangoo et al., 2005). The overall goal of asthma management is to achieve optimal disease control and health related quality of life improvements (Bateman et al., 2007; Pedersen et al., 2011). The World Health Organization has defined the term health related quality of life as the individual’s perception of their position of life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations and concerns (World Health Organization, 1993). The own perception is important because it emphasises that these are the impairments that patients themselves consider important. As in most medical conditions, the correlation between asthma control and health related quality of life is modest. Therefore, the impact that asthma has on a patient’s health related quality of life cannot be inferred from the conventional clinical measures of asthma (e.g. spirometry); it must be measured directly (Juniper et al., 1999a, 1999b). During the past decade, the use of health related quality of life as an essential outcome measure of childhood asthma treatment and management has increased (Merikallio et al., 2005). This review summarises recent literature on: 1) health related quality of life instruments for childhood asthma, 2) the impact of childhood asthma on children’s health related quality of life, 3) the impact of children’s asthma on caregiver’s health related quality of life and 5) factors associated with health related quality of life in childhood asthma.