Exploring Health-Related Quality of Life in Children With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Relationship to Physical Activity

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a burdensome condition that inflicts both physical and psychological impairment on those with the disease, negatively impacting health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Given the abundance of evidence suggesting a role of physical activity (PA) in modulating HRQoL in healthy populations of children, we sought to determine the relationship between HRQoL and PA in children diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A multicenter prospective observational cohort study was conducted, with patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy aged 10 to 19 years being provided a wrist-worn activity tracker (Fitbit Charge HR) to wear for 14 days. Patients self-reported on Pediatric Quality of Life 4.0 quality of life inventory items, which were associated with PA metrics following covariate adjustment using linear regression. A total of 56 participants were recruited to the study. The median age at enrollment was 15.5 years (interquartile range, 13.8-16.8), and 16 out of 56 (29%) of the cohort were girls. The cohort reported decreased metrics of physical, psychosocial, and total summary scores compared with health reference populations, with scores comparable with that of published populations with chronic disease. Increased physical HRQoL scores were significantly associated with increased daily steps taken, distance traveled, and flights of stairs climbed. These results show that impaired PA correlates with reduced HRQoL in children with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, suggesting PA may partially mediate HRQoL in this population.