Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun 29;17(6):e0270680.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270680. eCollection 2022.

Assessment of quality of life in asthmatic children and adolescents: A cross sectional study in West Bank, Palestine

Maher Khdour  1 , Malek Abu Ghayyadeh  1 , Dua'a Al-Hamed  2 , Hussam Alzeerelhouseini  1 , Heba Awadallah  1
Affiliations

Assessment of quality of life in asthmatic children and adolescents: A cross sectional study in West Bank, Palestine

Maher Khdour et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic illnesses among children and adolescents. It can severely affect their quality of life (QoL). Our study assessed the QoL and analyzed potential risk factors for poor QoL among asthmatic children and adolescents.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative study. Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) was used to measure the QoL and Asthma Control Test (ACT) was used to evaluate asthma control. The Chi-square test and independent t-test were used to compare variables. We used Multivariate logistic regression to identify the association between determinants and outcomes. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Results: We recruited 132 participants. We found that 47 patients (35.6%) had controlled Asthma and 85 patients (64.3%) had uncontrolled Asthma. When compared to uncontrolled asthma individuals, participants with controlled asthma had improved QoL and scored significantly higher in the symptom domain (P = 0.002), activity domain (P = 0.004), emotional domain (P = 0.002), and overall PAQoL scores (P = 0.002). Hospital admission affects significantly all domains of PAQOL (P<0.05). Poor QoL was significantly associated with hospitalization for asthma (OR = 3.4; CI: 2.77-3.94, P = 0.01), disease severity (OR = 3.0; CI: 2.41-3.61, P = 0.01), uncontrolled asthma (OR = 2.88; CI: 2.21-3.41, P = 0.019), and male gender (OR = 2.55; CI: 1.88-2.91, P = 0.02).

Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that in children and adolescents, uncontrolled asthma, disease severity, and previously hospitalized patients were associated with poor QoL. These factors must be considered when planning a comprehensive care plan for a better quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Common activities affected by asthma.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The distribution of the degree of impairment reported by the patients in the PAQoL components (symptoms, activity, and emotional domains) by levels of asthma control.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Asher MI, Rutter CE, Bissell K, Chiang CY, El Sony A, Ellwood E, et al.. Worldwide trends in the burden of asthma symptoms in school-aged children: Global Asthma Network Phase I cross-sectional study. The Lancet. 2021. Oct 30;398(10311):1569–80 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01450-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kwok MY, Walsh-Kelly CM, Gorelick MH, Grabowski L, Kelly KJ. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program severity classification as a measure of disease burden in children with acute asthma. Pediatrics. 2006. Apr;117(4 Pt 2):S71–7. doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-2000D . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cloutier MM, Baptist AP, Blake KV, Brooks EG, Bryant-Stephens T, DiMango E, et al.. 2020 focused updates to the asthma management guidelines: a report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee Expert Panel Working Group. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2020;146(6):1217–70. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2020.10.003 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mirzaei M, Karimi M, Beheshti S, Mohammadi M. Prevalence of asthma among Middle Eastern children: A systematic review. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2016. Oct 2;31:9. doi: 10.18869/mjiri.31.9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rydström I, Dalheim-Englund AC, Holritz-Rasmussen B, Möller C, Sandman PO. Asthma—quality of life for Swedish children. J Clin Nurs. 2005. Jul;14(6):739–49. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2005.01135.x . - DOI - PubMed