CHILDREN WITH ADHD AND CO-EXISTING PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS REPORT IMPAIRED QUALITY OF LIFE

College Station, Texas-Pediatric patient self-reported Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) continues to be under studied, most notably in pediatric patients with ADHD and co-existing psychiatric disorders. 

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the measurement properties of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL™) 4.0 Generic Core Scales as a patient self-reported HRQOL measurement instrument in 179 pediatric patients with ADHD and physician-diagnosed co-morbid psychiatric disorders ages 5-18 years and 181 parents.  The PedsQL™ demonstrated excellent measurement properties in this high risk population.  Most notable, pediatric patients with ADHD and co-morbid psychiatric disorders and their parents reported significantly worse PedsQL™ scores than healthy children and pediatric patients with cancer and diabetes with the exception of physical health in which pediatric cancer patients demonstrated lower physical health. 

Says Dr. James Varni, one of the study authors, “These findings highlight the profound negative impact of ADHD and co-existing psychiatric disorders on generic HRQOL, comparable to or worse than serious pediatric chronic physical diseases.”    

This will be discussed in a future issue of Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes Research. 

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based.  The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 4,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide. 

ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently. 

For more information: www.ispor.org

Media Releases Index