Risk factors for impaired health-related quality of life in a cohort of pediatric patients with inborn metabolic diseases

In the last decade, health-related quality of life (HrQoL) has become an increasingly important outcome parameter in children and adolescents with chronic health conditions; among them are pediatric patients with inborn metabolic diseases (IMDs). Hence, knowledge on this topic is increasing, but findings on non-medical influences on the HrQoL of IMD patients are still scarce. In the present study, we retrospectively evaluated the self-reported generic HrQoL of a cohort of pediatric patients (ages 7 to 17 years) with diverse IMDs (n = 204) and explored associations between HrQoL and psychosocial and medical characteristics of the patients. We aimed to identify risk factors for impaired HrQoL to improve and tailor support for the patients and economize resources. Generic HrQoL was assessed with the KINDL-R questionnaire. We compared the HrQoL scores to published German normative data and analyzed the impact of demographic variables and intellectual and psychosocial functioning on the HrQoL. Moreover, we examined the influence of the diagnostic category and the health impairment (as judged by the physicians) on our patients’ HrQoL. Overall, the HrQoL of the adolescent patients was comparable to the HrQoL of the norm group. Disorders of intellectual development, impaired psychosocial functioning, and a severe health impairment were associated with lower HrQoL scores. Conclusion: We recommend evaluating these factors in children and adolescents with IMDs to identify patients at risk for impaired HrQoL.