Caregiver Quality of Life Is Related to Severity of Otitis Media in Children

Abstract

Objectives: Otitis media (OM) in children is the most frequent reason for physician visits in developed countries and burdens caregivers and society, as well as the child. Our objective was to describe the impact of OM severity on caregiver quality of life (QoL). Methods: Multi-institutional prospective cross-sectional study. Setting: Otolaryngology, family practice, and pediatrics clinics. Children 6-24 months old with and without a primary diagnosis of recurrent OM and their caregivers. Physicians provided patient history, and parents/caregivers completed a Family Information form, the PedsQL Family QoL survey, the PROMIS survey, and the 6-item child with OM QoL survey (OM-6). Results: A total of 2414 patients were enrolled. The average age was 16 months, and 58% were male. The mean OM-6 score was 3.26, slightly more severe than the reported 2.8 for the average child with OM. The mean PedsQL Family score was 68.63, worse than the reported mean of 81.00 of parents with children with chronic disease in a convalescent hospital. Higher OM-6 scores correlated significantly with worse PedsQL Family scores, Pearson r -0.502, P < 0.01. Similarly, more severe OM-6 scores strongly correlated with increased parental anxiety, depression, fatigue, and decreased satisfaction, all P < 0.01. Conclusions: Parents of children ages 6-24 months with OM had mean PedsQL scores similar to parents of chronically ill children requiring full time home care. Worse PedsQL Family scores were highly correlated with elevated OM-6 scores, suggesting that severity of OM significantly affects parental QoL.