Health and Quality of Life Outcomes (Aug 2020)

Health-related quality of life of female patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia in Malaysia

  • Ani Amelia Zainuddin,
  • Sonia Regina Grover,
  • Nur Azurah Abdul Ghani,
  • Loo Ling Wu,
  • Rahmah Rasat,
  • Mohd. Rizal Abdul Manaf,
  • Khadijah Shamsuddin,
  • Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-020-01515-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Background This study investigates the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of female patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in Malaysia. The objectives were to attain socio-demographic and medical data on these Malaysian females with CAH and establish their health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in comparison to age matched diabetic controls. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted over 6 months in the two main tertiary centres for CAH patients in Malaysia. Participants including 59 female-raised CAH patients (mean age ± SD = 16.3 ± 4.2 years, range 10–28 years) compared to 57 age-matched female diabetic patients (mean age ± SD = 16.5 ± 3.4 years, range 10–26 years). Socio-demographic and medical profiles was obtained through semi-structured interviews. HRQOL of participants were evaluated utilising validated, Malay translated questionnaires which were age appropriate: Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL v4.0) scales for Child (8–12) and Adolescent (13–18) and Medical Outcome Survey 36-item Short Form version. These were then compared to the diabetic controls. Results The CAH participants consisted of children (ages 10–12 years, n = 12), adolescents (ages 13–17 years, n = 29) and adults (≥ 18 years, n = 18). The majority were Malays (64.4%) and had salt-wasting CAH (67.8%). There were no significant differences between the total mean score of the HRQOL of the combined children and adolescents CAH group (total mean score ± SD = 81.6 ± 17.9, 95% CI = 75.6–87.6) when compared to age-matched diabetic patients (total mean score ± SD = 80.8 ± 11.0, 95% CI = 77.0–84.5, P = 0.81, effect size = 0.05); no significant difference between the adult CAH and diabetic controls in the physical [median score (IQR) CAH vs diabetics; 49.3 (11.4) vs. 50.2 (6.1), P = 0.60, effect size = 0.09] and the mental composite scores [median score (IQR) CAH vs. diabetics; 47.8 (14.1) vs. 50.0 (10.8), P = 0.93, effect size = 0.01]. Conclusions The HRQOL of the Malaysian CAH cohort were comparable to the diabetic controls.

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