44 Quality of Life in Greek Children with Asthma

Background: Asthma is a multisymptomatic and multifactorial disease with a various therapeutic approach that can have a substantial effect on quality of life (QoL). Aim: To evaluate the QoL in children with asthma in Greece and to describe the impact of asthma and its treatment on the child's well-being. Methods: The study participated 504 asthmatic children and one of their parents. Qol was assessed with DISABKIDS-Smiley measure for children aged 4-7 years and with DISABKIDS DCGM-37 and Asthma Module for children 8-14 year old, along with special forms for demographic and clinical data. Results: 315 children (122 girls, 193 boys), 4-7 years old (Group A) with mean age 5,35 years and 189 children (8-16 years old) with mean age of 10,22 years (Group B) participated the study. Age of diagnosis, treatment duration, mother's educational level and level of asthma control were found to have positive effect on children's QoL. On the contrary, passive smoking (especially when the mother was a smoker), presence of pets or animals, the level of contact with allergens and asthma severity were found to have a negative effect on quality of life, especially in younger children (4-7 years). Conclusions: Asthma control and severity are in close relation but they express different clinical dimensions of asthma. Major determinant of asthmatic children's QoL is the level of asthma control and affects it independently of any other factor. Moreover, even the presence of mild asthmatic symptoms affects quality of life.