Quality of life in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy and myelomeningocele.

The aim of this study was to compare health-related quality of life in children with cerebral palsy and with myelomeningocele. Fifty-seven children with spastic cerebral palsy and 34 patients with myelomeningocele aged 5-16 years were included in the study. Their mothers completed standardized measures on the Revidierter Kinder Lebensqualitätsfragebogen (KINDL-R) parent questionnaire. The 2 groups were demographically comparable. The children with cerebral palsy were classified more frequently into levels II (n = 24) and III (n = 18) of the Gross Motor Function Classification System. Other patients were classified into levels IV (n = 5) and V (n = 10). Three patients with myelomeningocele were community walkers, 10 could walk with assistive devices, and 21 used a wheelchair. Lesion level was thoracic in 13 patients, lumbar in 17, and sacral in 4. Twenty-nine patients (85.3%) with myelomeningocele had hydrocephalus, and 27 had a shunt. Parents in the both studied groups reported similar overall quality of life of their children in the dimensions of physical and emotional well-being, self-esteem, family, friends, and school. No significant correlations between the quality-of-life scores and age, walking ability, and mental development of the studied groups were found.