OBJECTIVE: The study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Japanese mothers of children with leukemia to that of mothers of children without leukemia. METHOD: We used the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form (SF-36) to measure the HRQOL of 97 mothers of children (average age 6.2, range 0-14) with leukemia diagnosed between 1999 and 2000, and compared their scores to those of 240 mothers of children without leukemia matched to the children with leukemia. MAIN RESULTS: Of the eight unadjusted domain scores of the SF-36, five were significantly low among mothers of children with leukemia compared to mothers of children without leukemia: 'role-physical functioning' (RP), 'general health perception' (GH), 'vitality' (VT), 'social functioning' (SF) and 'mental health' (MH). Their SF-36 domain scores, when adjusted for demographic and clinical factors were also significantly low in RP, GH, VT, SF, RE and MH. The MH and SF scores in mothers of children with leukemia requiring hospital care were, respectively, approximately 20 points (1 standard deviation (SD), p < 0.0001) and 30 points (1.5 SD, p < 0.0001) lower than that of mothers of children without leukemia. CONCLUSION: Mothers of children with leukemia requiring hospital care have poor HRQOL, particularly with regard to mental health and social functioning, and are at a greater risk for depression. These results suggest that the current system for treating leukemic diseases of children in Japan should also include close monitoring of mothers' mental health, and provision of appropriate treatment and psycho-social support.
OBJECTIVE: The study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Japanese mothers of children with leukemia to that of mothers of children without leukemia. METHOD: We used the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form (SF-36) to measure the HRQOL of 97 mothers of children (average age 6.2, range 0-14) with leukemia diagnosed between 1999 and 2000, and compared their scores to those of 240 mothers of children without leukemia matched to the children with leukemia. MAIN RESULTS: Of the eight unadjusted domain scores of the SF-36, five were significantly low among mothers of children with leukemia compared to mothers of children without leukemia: 'role-physical functioning' (RP), 'general health perception' (GH), 'vitality' (VT), 'social functioning' (SF) and 'mental health' (MH). Their SF-36 domain scores, when adjusted for demographic and clinical factors were also significantly low in RP, GH, VT, SF, RE and MH. The MH and SF scores in mothers of children with leukemia requiring hospital care were, respectively, approximately 20 points (1 standard deviation (SD), p < 0.0001) and 30 points (1.5 SD, p < 0.0001) lower than that of mothers of children without leukemia. CONCLUSION: Mothers of children with leukemia requiring hospital care have poor HRQOL, particularly with regard to mental health and social functioning, and are at a greater risk for depression. These results suggest that the current system for treating leukemic diseases of children in Japan should also include close monitoring of mothers' mental health, and provision of appropriate treatment and psycho-social support.
Authors: Whitney P Witt; Kristin Litzelman; Lauren E Wisk; Hilary A Spear; Kris Catrine; Nataliya Levin; Carissa A Gottlieb Journal: Qual Life Res Date: 2010-05-15 Impact factor: 4.147
Authors: Molly H Gardner; Sylvie Mrug; David C Schwebel; Sean Phipps; Kimberly Whelan; Avi Madan-Swain Journal: Cancer Nurs Date: 2017 Sep/Oct Impact factor: 2.592
Authors: Anne F Klassen; Sonia Gulati; Leeat Granek; Zahava R S Rosenberg-Yunger; Lisa Watt; Lillian Sung; Robert Klaassen; David Dix; Nicola T Shaw Journal: Qual Life Res Date: 2011-11-30 Impact factor: 4.147