Perception of quality of life in school-age children born before 32 weeks of gestational age

Abstract

Background: Preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) are at increased risk of disruptions in their quality of life (QoL) at school age, often associated with respiratory morbidity and the need for ongoing hospital care. Objective: To assess the impact of BPD on perceived quality of life in preterm infants at school age. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study of infants less than 32 weeks' gestation admitted to our neonatal unit between January 2012 and December 2014. Quality of life was assessed at school age using the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) questionnaire, with higher scores indicating poorer quality of life. Results: The study included 102 patients with a mean gestational age of 29.42 weeks (SD 1.87) and a mean birth weight of 1221.36 g (SD 347.25), with an average age of 8.59 years (SD 0.90) at the time of the survey. Patients with BPD 2-3 exhibited a significantly poorer perception of “total quality of life” (p=0.03) and in the “social activities” domain (p=0.02) compared to those without BPD or with BPD 1; even after adjusting for gestational age in a multivariate model. No significant differences were observed for “health & activities” domain (p=0.31), “emotional state” domain (p=0.58), or “school activities” domain (p=0.33). No significant differences were found between patients without a diagnosis of BPD and those with grade 1 BPD. Similarly, no significant differences were observed when comparing patients of less than 28 weeks' gestational age and more than 28 weeks of gestational age. Conclusion: In our study of preterm infants, those diagnosed with grade 2-3 BPD exhibited lower perceived quality of life compared to preterm infants without BPD or with grade 1 BPD. No differences in quality of life were observed between patients without BPD diagnosis and those with grade 1 BPD. No significant differences in QoL were found between infants born before and after 28 weeks' gestation.