Objective: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattentiveness, has been identified as an important psychiatric condition in terms of its prevalence (around 5% worldwide) and its impact on quality of life for patients and their families. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. In the present study, the life quality of children and adolescents with ADHD was compared both with the life quality of children and adolescents with Type 1 DM and with healthy control groups.
Method: 60 ADHD cases, 60 Type 1 DM patients and 60 healthy controls, in total 180 children and adolescents, aged between 8-16 years were enrolled in this prospective, case-control study. The diagnostic assessments of psychiatric disorders in all subjects were made according to the DSM-IV criteria, the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children—Present and the Lifetime (K-SADS PL). Sociodemographic scale, Pediatric Quality of Life Scale for Children (PedsQL 4.0 TM) were applied to all of the children - adolescents and their parents. The results were assessed with appropriate statistical analysis.
Results: In our study, the mean age was found 130.25±16.31 months (10.8±1.4 years) in the case and the control groups. The majority of ADHD subjects (68.3%) were male. Children and adolescents in the control groups were matched to subjects in the ADHD group according to age and sex. As a result, no significant difference between the groups were found in terms of age and sex (p=0.995, p=0.633).Compared with healthy controls, children and adolescents with diagnosed ADHD reported lower self-concept in all subscales and total scores of PedsQL except “Physical Health Summary” (“Emotional Functioning”, “Social Functioning”, “Academic Functioning”, “Psychosocial Health Summary” and “Scale Summary”) (p<0.01). No significant difference was found in “Physical Health Summary” score (p:0.216). Similarly, children and adolescents with diagnosed ADHD reported lower self-concept in terms of “Emotional Functioning” and “Psychosocial Health Summary” scores than reported by children and adolescents with Type 1 DM (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Life quality in terms of “Emotional Functioning”, “Social Functioning”, “Academic Functioning” and “Psychosocial Health” were found to be impaired in ADHD subjects.