A cross-cultural study on perceived health-related quality of life in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study investigated whether culture can affect self- and proxy-reports of perceived diabetes-specific health-related quality of life of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes when taking into account glycemic control, gender and age. MethodsA total of 416 patients aged between 8 and 18years – 84 (Greece), 135 (Hungary) and 197 (Kuwait) – and their parents completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 3.0. Diabetes Module. ResultsGender and age did not have any effect on perceived diabetes-specific health-related quality of life. Significant differences were detected among countries in self- and proxy-reports of diabetes-specific health-related quality of life when controlling for glycemic control. More specifically, Greek patients with type 1 diabetes and their parents reported significantly worse disease-specific health-related quality of life than their peers from Kuwait and Hungary. Moreover, culture affected the level of agreement between self- and proxy-reports with parents from Kuwait underestimating their children's diabetes-specific health-related quality of life. ConclusionThe impact of culture on self- and proxy-reports of diabetes-specific health-related quality of life warrants further investigation, since it might suggest the need for differential psychosocial treatment.