Quality of life of children with attention-deficit/hyper activity disorder.

OBJECTIVE

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has an impact on children and families. The purpose of this study was to assess the health-related quality of life between school-age children with ADHD compared with those without physical or mental disorders.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

Self- and parent-reports describing the quality of life, covering 4 domains: physical, emotional, social, and school functioning, were obtained from 46 children with ADHD and 94 control children. At the time of the study, 17 of 46 children reported receiving medication for ADHD.

RESULTS

After controlling for age and demographic background, both children with ADHD and their parents reported having a significantly lower quality of life score than controls and their parents. Children with ADHD also reported themselves to have a significantly low physical score, despite their physically healthy status.

CONCLUSION

Children with ADHD had impairment of their quality of life in the physical and psychosocial domains. Improvement of health-related quality of life should be integrated in the overall planning of the treatment goals.