Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz
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Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz · Jun 2008
Comparative Study[Personal, familial and social resources and health-related quality of life in children and adolescents with chronic conditions].
The present publication describes chronic conditions of children and adolescents (asthma, ADHD, obesity) in relation to personal, familial and social resources and to health-related quality of life (HRQOL). A database of these investigations is the German health interview and examination survey of children and adolescents (KiGGS), which is representative for 0 to 17 year-olds. The above mentioned chronic conditions occur frequently in this age group and are assumed to have an influence on quality of life and to be related to a lower level of protective factors. ⋯ The chronic conditions investigated show remarkable differences in the scale values for measuring protective factors and health-related quality of life. Possible explanations are: For asthma as a chronic disease with somatic manifestation effective treatments and therapies exist, so that it has nearly no influence on the self-assessed quality of life. ADHD and obesity result in a decrease of quality of life and in the field of protective factors, possibly caused by social stigmatisation, isolation and demotivation of the concerned children and adolescents. Therefore it is important to support those children and adolescents to cope with their disease-related problems. The results illustrate that in addition to the immediate effects of chronic conditions on the concerned children and their families, it is the quality of life and the familial and social environment that should be specifically addressed in further studies.