SOME DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN SCHOOL-AGE ADOLESCENTS: A SINGLE-STAGE STUDY

Abstract

The most of the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) studies are conducted to assess the psychosocial consequences of diseases. However, there is evidence that HFQOL is affected not only by the presence of disease, but also by a wide range of other factors. The purpose of the study was to determine the most significant socio-demographic and behavioral factors associated with quality of life in adolescents who are school students. Materials and methods of the research: a continuous single-stage study was conducted, which included school students of the 10th grade in the city of Irkutsk, Russia. The HLQOL was assessed by adolescent self-reports by PedsQL™ Measurement Model version 4.0 (Lyon, France) for adolescents aged 13 to 18 years old. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors. Information about diseases was obtained by copying from schoolchildren’s medical records. Results: The study included 463 adolescents (174 (37.6%) males). According to the results of one-way regression analysis, the low (≤ 25th percentile) HLQOL in the 10th-graders was associated with female gender - OR 3.3 (CI 1.95–5.63), the presence of a chronic disease - OR 1.6 (CI 1 03-2.47), poor living conditions - OR 2.4 (CI 1.4-4.16), alcohol abuse in the family - OR 2.8 (CI 1.07-7.27), time spent with a personal computer - OR 1.4 (CI 1.24–1.57). The impact on quality of life was shown for organized sports - OR 0.6 (CI 0.35–0.9), and distant walking - OR 0.6 (CI 0.46–0.83). In a multivariate analysis, the significance of association with HFQOL was confirmed only for female gender, living conditions, and time spent at a screen. Conclusion: socioeconomic and lifestyle factors affect the quality of life of schoolchildren regardless of the presence of background chronic conditions, which must be taken into account when studying the psychosocial consequences of diseases as important confounding factors. The knowledge gained could be of use for the formation of risk groups in the adolescent cohort.