General Health Scale Research Articles

P2-46 Assessing the health related quality of life and effective factors: A Population Based Study

IntroductionThis study has been planned to determine quality of life of people in one health center area, and the effect of sociodemographic factors, hypertension and other chronic diseases.MethodsThis cross-sectional study...

Gender Differences in Spiritual Experiences, Religious Practices, and Congregational Support for Individuals with Significant Health Conditions

This study sought to identify gender differences among medical patients for their spiritual/religious beliefs/practices and their associations with health. Patients (N = 168) completed the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS), and SF-36 general health perception (GHP) and general mental health (GMH) scales. No gender differences were found in endorsement of spiritual experiences, religious practices, or congregational support. For men, religious/spiritual coping significantly correlated with GHP and GMH, and religious support significantly correlated with GMH. For women, measures of spiritual experiences, religious practices, and congregational support were significantly correlated with GMH, but no significant correlations with GHP were noted. Regression analyses revealed that the interaction between gender and BMMRS was a significant predictor for GMH and GHP. Follow-up analyses suggested that for women, GMH was associated with religious/spiritual coping, religious support, daily spiritual experiences, forgiveness, and organizational religion. In contrast, GHP was only significantly predicted by religious support and only for men. Although no gender differences were noted in endorsement of religious/spiritual experiences/practices, gender differences in relationships between spirituality beliefs/practices and health may exist among individuals with chronic health issues.

Diferencias en la calidad de vida en pacientes con flutter auricular típico sometidos a ablación del istmo cavotricuspídeo

Introduction and objectives The aim of the study was to assess and measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) changes in patients with typical atrial flutter following catheter ablation. The outcome was standardized and normalized to the Spanish population adjusted by age and sex. Methods Ninety-five consecutive patients who had undergone cavotricuspid isthmus ablation were included. The SF-36 questionnaire was self-administered before the procedure and at 1-year follow-up. We used the effect size and the standardized response mean as measures of responsiveness to quantify the change in HRQoL and the minimum clinically important difference to assess the smallest difference in score that patients perceived as beneficial. Results Of the 95 patients initially included, 88 completed the 1-year follow-up. We observed a large improvement (effect size ≥0.8) on the physical functioning, role-physical , general health, and vitality scales and on the physical component summary. We detected a moderate improvement (effect size ≥0.5) on the role-emotional, social functioning, and mental health scales and on the mental component summary. On all scales except bodily pain and social activity, the improvement was clinically perceived by patients. Conclusions A clinically significant improvement in HRQoL measures was found in patients with typical atrial flutter who underwent cavotricuspid isthmus catheter ablation. Full English text available from: www.revespcardiol.org

Quality of Life Differences in Patients With Typical Atrial Flutter Following Cavotricuspid Isthmus Ablation

Introduction and objectives The aim of the study was to assess and measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) changes in patients with typical atrial flutter following catheter ablation. The outcome was standardized and normalized to the Spanish population adjusted by age and sex. Methods Ninety-five consecutive patients who had undergone cavotricuspid isthmus ablation were included. The SF-36 questionnaire was self-administered before the procedure and at 1-year follow-up. We used the effect size and the standardized response mean as measures of responsiveness to quantify the change in HRQoL and the minimum clinically important difference to assess the smallest difference in score that patients perceived as beneficial. Results Of the 95 patients initially included, 88 completed the 1-year follow-up. We observed a large improvement (effect size ≥0.8) on the physical functioning, role-physical, general health, and vitality scales and on the physical component summary. We detected a moderate improvement (effect size ≥0.5) on the role-emotional, social functioning, and mental health scales and on the mental component summary. On all scales except bodily pain and social activity, the improvement was clinically perceived by patients. Conclusions A clinically significant improvement in HRQoL measures was found in patients with typical atrial flutter who underwent cavotricuspid isthmus catheter ablation.

High disease impact of myotonic dystrophy type 2 on physical and mental functioning.

The aim of the study was to investigate health status in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) and determine its relationship to pain and fatigue. Data on health status (SF-36), pain (MPQ) and fatigue (CIS-fatigue) were collected for the Dutch DM2 population (n = 32). Results were compared with those of sex- and age-matched adult-onset myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) patients. In addition, we compared the obtained scores on health status of the DM2 group with normative data of the Dutch general population (n = 1742). Compared to DM1, the SF-36 score for bodily pain was significantly (p = 0.04) lower in DM2, indicating more body pain in DM2. DM2 did not differ from DM1 on any other SF-36 scales. In comparison to the Dutch population, DM2 patients reported lower scores (indicating worse clinical condition) on the physical functioning, role functioning-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, and role functioning-emotional scales (p < 0.01 on all scales). The difference was most profound for the physical functioning scale. In the DM2 group the severity of pain was significantly correlated with SF-36 scores for bodily pain (p = 0.003). Fatigue was significantly correlated with the SF-36 scores for role functioning-physical (p = 0.001), general health (p = 0.02), and vitality (p = 0.02). The impact of DM2 on a patients’ physical, psychological and social functioning is significant and as high as in adult-onset DM1 patients. From the perspective of health-related quality of life, DM2 should not be considered a benign disease. Management of DM2 patients should include screening for pain and fatigue. Symptomatic treatment of pain and fatigue may decrease disease impact and help improve health status in DM2, even if the disease itself cannot be treated.

Short-term Functional Health and Well-Being After Marital Separation: Does Initiator Status Make a Difference?

The authors investigated the health consequences of marital separation and whether the partners who initiated the separation had better health than those who did not. The data came from the Households, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) panel study (2001-2007), comprising an analytic sample of 1,786 men and 2,068 women who were in their first marriages in 2001. For participants who separated, the authors distinguished between self-initiated, partner-initiated, and jointly initiated separations. Using linear random-intercept models, they examined scores on the 8 physical and mental health dimensions of Short Form 36, with scale scores ranging from 0 to 100. The results indicated that in general, men who separated had a decline in health, although this was more pronounced for mental dimensions than for physical dimensions. Among separated men, those whose partner initiated the separation had poorer mental health than those for whom the separation was self-initiated or jointly initiated (-4.61). Women's physical health improved with separation, but their mental health declined. For separated women, those whose partner initiated the separation had lower scores on the general health (-5.39), role-emotional (-11.08), and mental health (-7.18) scales than women who self-initiated separation. The health consequences of separation were less severe for self- or jointly initiated separations, suggesting that not all marital dissolutions are equally bad for health.

Smoking at onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its effect on disease activity and functional status: experiences from BARFOT, a long-term observational study on early RA

Objectives: To assess the effects of smoking on disease outcome in a large cohort of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods: Between 1996 and 2004, 1787 adult patients (disease duration ≤ 1 year) were included in the BARFOT early RA study in Sweden. Smoking status was recorded at inclusion in the study. Disease Activity Score using 28 joint counts (DAS28), C-reactive protein (CRP), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score, rheumatoid factor (RF), antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), general health (GH) and pain visual analogue scales (VAS), and drug treatment were registered at inclusion and at follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months. European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response and remission criteria were applied at 3, 6, and 12 months.Results: The proportion of patients who smoked at inclusion in the study fell from 29% in 1996 to 20% in 2004. There were no significant differences in disease activity at inclusion stratified according to smoking status. At 12 months of follow-up, 18% of current smokers at inclusion, 12% of previous smokers, and 11% of never smokers had high disease activity (DAS28 > 5.1, p = 0.005). Significantly fewer current smokers were in remission at 12 months (33%) compared to never smokers (36%) and previous smokers (42%) (p = 0.013). Current smoking at inclusion independently predicted poor EULAR response up to 12 months of follow-up.Conclusion: The present study gives some support to earlier data indicating that RA patients who smoke have a more active disease but further studies are needed to confirm this.

Simple questionnaire for assessing core outcomes in inguinal hernia repair

Patient-oriented questionnaires are indispensable in the assessment of surgical outcome. The psychometric properties of a brief multidimensional instrument were examined in patients with inguinal hernia undergoing surgery. Fifty-one patients (mean(s.d.) age 50·6(17·4) years; 48 men) participated. The following questionnaire properties were assessed for the Core Outcome Measures Index adapted for patients with hernia (COMI-hernia) and the EuroQol: practicability, floor and ceiling effects, test-retest reliability (over 2 weeks), construct validity (by comparison with other relevant scales) and responsiveness 9 months after surgery as standardized response mean (SRM). The questionnaires were easy to implement and well accepted by the patients. Ceiling effects at baseline were 2 per cent for the COMI-hernia, 8 per cent for EuroQol-visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) and 35 per cent for EuroQol-Five Dimensions (EQ-5D); no instrument showed floor effects. The reproducibility of individual COMI-hernia items was good, with test-retest differences within one grade ranging from 41 of 45 for 'social/work disability' to 44 of 45 for 'general quality of life'. The intraclass correlation coefficients were moderately high for COMI-hernia (0·74) and EQ-VAS (0·77), but low for EQ-5D (0·43). COMI-hernia scores correlated in the expected manner with related scales (r = 0·42-0·72, P < 0·050). COMI-hernia was the most responsive instrument (SRM 1·42). The COMI-hernia and EQ-VAS general health scale represent reliable, valid and sensitive tools for assessing multidimensional outcome in patients with inguinal hernia undergoing surgical treatment.

The time to trade-off method versus the EQ-5D index to determine health utility in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Система комплексной поддержки и сопровождения научного журнала Elpub позволяет запустить двуязычный сайт журнала со встроенной системой электронной редакции в соответствии с лучшими издательскими практиками, а так же предусматривает техническую и методическую поддержку со стороны специалистов НЭИКОН.

Improved Clinical Outcomes After High-Flexion Total Knee Arthroplasty: A 5-Year Follow-Up Study

The purpose of this study was to determine if high-flexion total knee arthroplasty resulted in improved outcomes compared with conventional total knee arthroplasty. This was a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial involving 76 patients over 5 years. We compared the postoperative flexion range, Knee Society scores, Oxford knee scores, and SF-36 scores between 2 groups. The high-flexion group was able to achieve a significant sustainable increase in postoperative knee flexion angle; and this correlated to a significant improvement in the General Health, Vitality, and Physical Functioning scales of SF-36 at 5 years postoperatively. Our results signify that high-flexion total knee arthroplasty has additional benefits to the quality of life in patients who require higher degrees of knee flexion in their activities of daily living.

Factors That Impact Expectations Before Total Knee Arthroplasty

This study examined the effect of patient attributes on expectations before total knee arthroplasty (TKA). A total of 1943 patients completed an Expectations Survey before TKA. Demographics, surgical history, baseline Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) score, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and Lower Extremity Activity Scale score were obtained. On univariate analysis, expectations (mean score, 77.6) correlated with SF-36 General Health, age, SF-36 Vitality, KOOS Quality-of-Life, and Lower Extremity Activity Scale. Living alone and history of joint arthroplasty were associated with significantly lower expectations, whereas male sex and white race were associated with higher expectations. On multivariate regression analysis, age, living situation, history of joint arthroplasty, SF-36 General Health, and KOOS Quality-of-Life remained significant predictors of expectations. Our results suggest that high, possibly unrealistic, expectations of TKA are common and should be moderated to maintain patient satisfaction.

Measuring the health status burden in hemodialysis patients using the SF-36® health survey

The SF-36, a generic measure of 8 domains of health-related quality of life (HRQOL), has been widely used to examine HRQOL of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). The current study synthesizes existing literature to examine which SF-36 domains capture the largest burden in this patient population. A literature search of published studies that presented descriptive statistics for baseline SF-36 scale scores from HD patients was conducted. Disease burden was estimated by comparing HD patients' SF-36 scores to those from either a control group or a general population normative sample taken from the same country. For each study, Cohen d effect sizes for between-sample differences were calculated for each scale. Twenty-six articles that matched set criteria were identified. Estimation of differences between HD patients and comparison groups showed that the SF-36 physical functioning scale yielded the largest weighted mean effect size across studies (d = 1.46), followed by the general health (d = 1.29) and role physical (d = 1.21) scales. Among the eight domains of the SF-36, physical functioning, general health, and role physical scales best captured disease burden for HD patients. The disease burden negatively impacts physical HRQOL more strongly than mental HRQOL.

Vitamin D, Surface Electromyography and Physical Function in Uraemic Patients

Background: Muscle function is impaired in uraemic patients and several causes have been proposed. Deficiency of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD), which affects muscle function in non-uraemic patients, may very well also be associated with the myopathy found in these patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between 25-OHD and muscle function as well as physical function in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 21 adult patients with CKD stage 3–5 and 21 patients treated with PD were included. Standard biochemistry parameters were measured including 25-OHD, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-OHD) and parathyroid hormone analysis. Muscle function was determined by 30-second surface electromyography (sEMG) recordings of a right thigh muscle (vastus lateralis) and a second left finger muscle (second dorsal interosseous) under voluntary contractions. Physical function was determined using a 30-second Chair Stand Test and the Short Form 36 quality of life questionnaire. Clinical characteristics were collected from the patient records. Results: Moderate vitamin 25-OHD deficiency (<40 nmol/l) was measured in 52% of patients with CKD and in 71% of the patients on PD. Severe deficiency (<15 nmol/l) was measured in 14% of patients on PD. There were no significant differences between the CKD and PD patients in terms of sEMG results. 25-OHD was not correlated to any results from the tests of sEMG or physical function. However, a higher sEMG frequency and signal root mean square (RMS) were positively associated with a higher Chair Stand Test score. Time to maximum sEMG frequency was negatively correlated to the Chair Stand Test score (p < 0.05), and positively correlated to the level of comorbidity (p < 0.05). sEMG signal peak-peak amplitude, frequency and RMS were positively correlated to the quality of life scales Physical Function, Role Physical, General Health, Vitality, Social Function, Mental Health, and Physical Component Scale (p < 0.001). Conclusions: 25-OHD deficiency was prevalent in uraemic patients in the present study. Muscle function as determined using sEMG and the Chair Stand Test was not associated with 25-OHD. The results may be biased by the limited variation in 25-OHD and masked by effects of several other variables in this very sick population.

The Relationship Between Food Security and Poor Health Among Female WIC Participants

This study evaluated the prevalence and relationship of food security, dietary choices, and health status within the Butte County Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in California. One hundred fifty-five postpartum non-lactating female WIC participants were surveyed on their health and food security status through validated measures and their dietary choices through 7 Likert statements. Participants who were food insecure scored significantly lower on the general and mental health scales and their diet choice score. The participants' dietary choices also affected mental and general health scores. Food insecurity significantly increased the likelihood of having a lower mental health score and seldom or never eating 2½ cups of vegetables per day. These results suggest that food insecurity is associated with decreased general and mental health and vegetable consumption among Butte County WIC participants.

The Relative Health-Related Quality of Life Burden of Severe Hemophilia A and the Impact of Target Joint Development.

Abstract 1404Poster Board I-426 Objectives:The primary objective of this study was to compare the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) burden of severe hemophilia A patients relative to a healthy sample of people, a general sample of the population, and to patients with other burdensome chronic conditions. The secondary objective was to determine the HRQOL impact of having at least one target joint. Methods:All adult patients with severe hemophilia A who were enrolled in the Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant), Plasma/Albumin-Free Method (Advate) Post-Authorization Safety Surveillance (PASS) study and completed the SF-36v2 at their baseline assessment were selected for this research. Analysis of variance was used to assess the relative HRQOL burden of these hemophilia A patients as compared to a healthy US population sample, a normal US population sample and patients reporting either chronic back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, or cancer. This comparison data was collected from the 1998 US National Survey of Functional Health Status. These comparisons groups were adjusted to the age and sex distribution of the severe hemophilia A sample using OLS regression models, with each SF-36v2 scale/summary score as a dependent variable. Finally, multivariate analysis of covariance (controlling for age) tested the impact of target joint absence (TJ-) or presence (TJ+) on SF-36v2 scores. Results:141 adult patients (ages 18–78; median age=35) were identified. These severe hemophilia A patients scored worse than the US healthy population and US general population on all four physical domain scales and lower than chronic back pain patients on three out of the four physical domain scales (all p<0.01). The mean physical component summary (PCS) score was 41.6 for these hemophilia A patients and 54.3, 51.3, and 47.4 for the US healthy population, US general population and chronic back pain patients (all p<0.01); all exceeding this measure's established minimal important difference (MID) of 3 points. Hemophilia A patients reported no differences in physical HRQOL on the SF-36v2 when compared to patients with rheumatoid arthritis and cancer (p>0.05). Interestingly, hemophilia A patients reported significantly a higher score on both the vitality domain and mental component summary (MCS) score when compared to all patient groups except the US healthy population (all p<0.01). In addition, the difference on the MCS between hemophilia A patients and patients with chronic back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer were larger than the MID (50.6 vs 45.2, 44.4, and 44.7, respectively). Forty-six (32.6%) severe hemophilia A patients enrolled in the PASS study did not have a target joint. Hemophilia A patients without target joints showed significantly better HRQOL than patients with at least one target joint on the physical functioning scale (p<0.05), the general health scale (p<0.01) and the PCS score (p<0.01). The difference between the mean PCS score exceeded the MID (44.8/40.1 for TJ-/TJ+ groups, p<0.01). There were no differences between hemophilia A patients with and without target joints for any of the mental scales or the MCS score (p>0.05). Conclusion:These comparisons demonstrate that severe hemophilia A patients have significantly significant and clinically meaningful lower physical HRQOL compared to the general public and people suffering from chronic back pain. The physical burden that these severe hemophilia A patients reported was similar to those who were living with rheumatoid arthritis or cancer. If target joints are prevented, hemophilia A patients may be able to experience significantly better physical HRQOL than if they developed a target joint. Finally, this research demonstrated that hemophilia A patients were unique compared to the other three chronic conditions studied, because hemophilia A patients reported significantly higher mental HRQOL than patients with chronic back pain, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Disclosures:Epstein: Baxter BioScience: Employment. Luu: Baxter BioScience: Employment. Yarlas: Baxter BioScience: Consultancy. Hammond: Baxter BioScience: Consultancy.

Suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms among bipolar patients as predictors of the health and well‐being of caregivers

Few studies have addressed the physical and mental health effects of caring for a family member with bipolar disorder. This study examined whether caregivers' health is associated with changes in suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms among bipolar patients observed over one year. Patients (N = 500) participating in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder and their primary caregivers (N = 500, including 188 parental and 182 spousal caregivers) were evaluated for up to one year as part of a naturalistic observational study. Caregivers' perceptions of their own physical health were evaluated using the general health scale from the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. Caregivers' depression was evaluated using the Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression Scale. Caregivers of patients who had increasing suicidal ideation over time reported worsening health over time compared to caregivers of patients whose suicidal ideation decreased or stayed the same. Caregivers of patients who had more suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms reported more depressed mood over a one-year reporting period than caregivers of patients with less suicidal ideation or depression. The pattern of findings was consistent across parent caregivers and spousal caregivers. Caregivers, rightly concerned about patients becoming suicidal or depressed, may try to care for the patient at the expense of their own health and well-being. Treatments that focus on the health of caregivers must be developed and tested.

Qualidade de vida de portadores de dores crônicas em tratamento com acupuntura

Pain is a signal of alert, common in sickness and with negative impact in people's life that search for alternative ways of relief. Acupuncture is used because of its analgesic effect. It was questioned if quality of life (QL) changes after acupuncture's beginning. The study aimed to analyse people’s QL after acupuncture treatment to chronic pain relief. It was a descriptive-analytical study carried out in an acupunture clinic of Goiânia-GO, Brazil, in January/February 2006. Data were collected using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). The answers were analysed by descriptive statistics and obtaining each SF-36 scale's score average. Most of the 35 interviewed individuals were female, catholic, with high school level. Pain's principal points were vertebral spine, limbs, joints and head. The highest scores were obtained in the General Health Scale (67.48), Mental Health Scale (65.94) and Physical Functioning Scale (65.57). The smallest scores were in Role-Physical Scale (42.14) and Bodily Pain Scale (47.54). Everyone asserted pain relief and changes in QL after acupuncture use. The highest scores indicate that the individual perception of QL of these people is positive despite pain limitations. They consider themselves healthy, living with pain in the possible manner. The smallest scores indicate areas where is necessary immediate professional intervention to enhance QL of people with chronic pain. Future studies may be conducted to amplify sample and to better understand the magnitude of the multidimensional quality of life variables. Key words: Quality of Life; Acupuncture; Pain; Nursing.

Relationships between the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality and health outcomes for a heterogeneous rehabilitation population.

To determine relationships between the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS; i.e., positive/negative spirituality, forgiveness, religious practices, positive/negative congregational support) and physical and mental health (Medical Outcomes Scale-Short Form 36; SF-36) for individuals with chronic disabilities. A cross-sectional analysis of 118 individuals evaluated in outpatient settings, including 61 with traumatic brain injury (TBI), 32 with cerebral vascular accidents (CVA), and 25 with spinal cord injury (SCI). Three of 6 BMMRS factor scores (i.e., positive spiritual experience, forgiveness, negative spiritual experience) were significantly correlated with the SF-36 General Health Perception (GHP) scale, and only 1 of 6 BMMRS factor scores (i.e., negative spiritual experience) was significantly and negatively correlated with the SF-36 General Mental Health (GMH) scale. BMMRS scales did not significantly predict either physical or mental health in hierarchical multiple regressions. Positive spiritual experiences and willingness to forgive are related to better physical health, while negative spiritual experiences are related to worse physical and mental health for individuals with chronic disabilities. Future research using the BMMRS will benefit from using a 6-factor model that evaluates positive/negative spiritual experiences, religious practices, and positive/negative congregational support. Interventions to accentuate positive spiritual beliefs (e.g., forgiveness protocols, etc.) and reduce negative spiritual beliefs for individuals with chronic disabilities are suggested.

Quality of life in a prospective cohort of elderly women with and without cancer

Quality of life (QOL) is an important issue for cancer survivors; few studies are able to consider elderly populations, address long-term survival (>or=5 years), examine different cancers, or include a valid noncancer comparison group. The authors assessed QOL in 2004 among women participating in the Iowa Women's Health Study, a prospective cohort of older women followed since 1986. Cancer occurrence during follow-up was identified through the State Health Registry of Iowa. The authors compared unadjusted, and age- and comorbidity-adjusted mean scores for 8 Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) scales among women with and without cancer by all cancer types, stage, and survival. Analyses were repeated after excluding women who developed a second primary cancer or reported cancer treatment in 2004. Among 17,385 respondents aged 71-89 years, 2717 (16.6%) had been diagnosed with cancer since 1986. Compared with women without cancer, survivors fared worse on the General Health scale, regardless of cancer type (except colorectal), stage, or survival. Except for lower scores among the longest survivors, Mental Health scores did not differ significantly between women with and without cancer. Women with genitourinary, lung, hematopoietic, lymphoma, or other gastrointestinal cancers, with cancer at the distant stage, or who survived at least 10 years consistently experienced significantly lower QOL scores than cancer-free women for most scales. Differences in QOL depended upon the specific SF-36 scale and which aspect of cancer survivorship was examined. These findings underscore the complexity of factors contributing to QOL among cancer survivors.

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and children with intellectual disabilities and their stress and general health

Introduction: The negative impact on mother’s well-being of having a child with developmental disabilities is well established in Western societies. By contrast less research has been undertaken in other cultures or with fathers. Method: A convenience sample of 91 parents was recruited in Tehran: 50 parents of children with intellectual disabilities and 41 parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A Farsi translation of two widely used scales—general health questionnaire (GHQ) and parental stress index—was used to gauge parental well-being. Results: Mothers had significantly higher scores than fathers on the GHQ and had higher levels of child-related stress. Also, both mothers and fathers of younger children tended to have significantly higher stress scores, same goes for parents whose children had ASD. Conclusion: Hence in Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, mothers in particular face stress and health problems as a consequence of caring for a child with developmental disabilities and these seem to be more marked when the child has ASD. Discussion: Further research is needed with fathers around their decreased involvement with the affected child and cultural expectations that fathers should be able to cope. These findings may also have implications for carers of older persons in non-Western societies.