Quality of Life and Prevalence of Depression among Children with Thalassemia in Panyananthaphikkhu Chonprathan Medical Center

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of life and prevalence of depression among child patients with thalassemia in Panyananthaphikkhu Chonprathan Medical Center. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 23 children aged 3 - 13 years (average 7.8 years) with 18 males (78%) using the Quality of Life Questionnaire PedsQL^TM 4.0 of JW Vami (Thai version), and Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) Questionnaire (Thai version). The results showed that among 23 children, 73.9% presented Betathal/HbE disease, 77.3% received monthly transfusion, and 72.7% received iron chelation. The evaluations of quality of life core domains revealed that about one half of the children (52.2 %) possessed moderate physical functioning with similar numbers both low and high, while the majority (69.6 and 65.2%) had moderate emotional and social functioning, respectively, with similar numbers both low and high. Finally, most children (78%) possessed moderate school functioning with 17.4% at low and 8.7% at high levels, respectively. Moreover, 6 of 14 patients, screened for mental problem by CDI Questionnaires, indicated clinical significance of depression. The results of this study could be used to improve and develop care giving systems for child patients with thalassemia in all physical, mental, and social aspects.