Parents’ and children’s perception of health-related quality of life by weight status in Navarre, Spain

Abstract

Introduction: Overweight-obesity, an endemic disease in developed countries, can lead to physical and psychosocial consequences that impair health-related quality of life (HRQoL). There are some aspects which can be reported by parents, but for others, the patient's subjective point of view is more relevant. The objective of this study was to assess the agreement between the perception of parents and children regarding the HRQoL of 7-11 year old children as per their weight status. Population and Methods: Cross-sectional study of parent and child dyads. HRQoL assessment using the CHIP-Child Edition questionnaire for children and the CHIP-Parent Report Form for parents. Agreement was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and dispersion plots. Results: A total of 152 parent-child dyads were assessed; 55.3% of children had a normal weight, and 44.7% were overweight-obese, with no differences observed in sociodemographic characteristics. Children did not show significant differences as per their weight status. Agreement between parents and children was medium-low (ICC < 0.6) in most domains, in the overall sample and when the sample was divided by weight status. The Comfort domain had a higher ICC (0.73) in the overweight-obese group. As per parents' perception, the HRQoL of overweight-obese children was significantly lower in terms of health satisfaction, physical comfort and peer relations. Conclusions: Agreement between parents and children in their perception of HRQoL as per the children's weight status was medium-low, without any significant differences. Parents' perceived that overweight-obese children had a significantly lower HRQoL.