Comparison of perceived quality of life between children with lupus nephritis and their parents

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the score of quality of life between parents and children with lupus nephritis. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2017 in children with lupus nephritis aged 5-18 years old treated at the Department of Child Health Dr. Soetomo Surabaya Hospital. Quality of life was assessed from parents and children using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Generic Core question-naires. Statistical analysis of Wilcoxon signed rank test and pair t-test were used with p-value<0.05 being significant. Results: A total of 30 children were included during the study period. Sixteen children were female with a mean age of 11.5 (standard deviation 2.7) years. The differences in score between parents and children were as follows: physical functioning (82.8 vs 87.5) p-value=0.140, emotional functioning (65.0 vs 72.5) p-value=0.173, social functioning (80.0 vs 95.0) p-value= 0.016 and school functioning (67.5 vs 70.0) p-value=0.116. There were no differences according to onset of diagnosis and the only differences found were in social functioning based on the induction treatment phase. Children with complications showed significant differences in physical, emotional and social functioning (p-value=0.041, p-value=0.023, p-value= 0.038 respectively). Conclusion: Parents and children with lupus nephritis showed different scores of quality of life in social functioning, and it is important to consider the daily life activities of children.