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. 2010 Feb 1;31(3):396-406.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2009.04181.x. Epub 2009 Oct 23.

Symptoms and quality of life in obese children and adolescents with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

K D Kistler  1 , J Molleston, A Unalp, S H Abrams, C Behling, J B Schwimmer; Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN)
Collaborators, Affiliations

Symptoms and quality of life in obese children and adolescents with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

K D Kistler et al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Data on the quality of life (QOL) of children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are needed to estimate the true burden of illness in children with NAFLD.

Aim: To characterize QOL and symptoms of children with NAFLD and to compare QOL in children with NAFLD with that in a sample of healthy children.

Methods: Quality of life and symptoms were assessed in children with biopsy-proven NAFLD enrolled in the NASH Clinical Research Network. PedsQL scores were compared with scores from healthy children. For children with NAFLD, between-group comparisons were made to test associations of demography, histological severity, symptoms and QOL.

Results: A total of 239 children (mean age 12.6 years) were studied. Children with NAFLD had worse total (72.8 vs. 83.8, P < 0.01), physical (77.2 vs. 87.5, P < 0.01) and psychosocial health (70.4 vs. 81.9, P < 0.01) scores compared with healthy children. QOL scores did not significantly differ by histological severity of NAFLD. Fatigue, trouble sleeping and sadness accounted for almost half of the variance in QOL scores. Impaired QOL was present in 39% of children with NAFLD.

Conclusions: Children with NAFLD have a decrement in QOL. Symptoms were a major determinant of this impairment. Interventions are needed to restore and optimize QOL in children with NAFLD.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency and severity of symptoms in children with NAFLD
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total QOL score by severity of (A) sadness, (B) fatigue, and (C) trouble sleeping. ANOVA demonstrated significant (p<0.001) overall differences for each symptom. Tukey’s post-hoc test demonstrated that: * significantly (p<0.01) different from category none; ŧ significantly (p≤0.01) different from category mild. Boxes=median scores; whiskers=interquartile range
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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