Quality of life in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important health outcome and a well-know indicator of the long-term consequences of chronic diseases that affect the quality of life (QOL). Aim of our study was to investigate general and HRQOL of children with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and subjects with coeliac disease (CD) compared to healthy controls. We studied 101 outpatients: 35 children with T1DM (12.8 ± 2.85 years, duration of T1DM 60.5 ± 33.4 months), 32 subjects with CD (9.60 ± 2.61 year, duration of CD 52.0 ± 47.9 months), and 34 controls children matched for age and sex. All subjects were assed using the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Generic Core Scales to measure HRQOL with 23 items included in 4 scales. T1DM patients showed a satisfactory metabolic control HbA1c (8.06 ± 0.75%). Twenty-one out of 32 CD subjects showed a strict dietetic control. We demonstrated that social functioning (fx), school (fx), psychosocial health (fx), and total scale were significantly different between groups; the major concern was related to emotional (fx). Our results demonstrate that children and adolescents with chronic disease, despite a good adherence to therapy, have impairment in psychosocial health (fx). Our data disagree with common opinion that children with CD have a better adaptation and functioning. These findings contribute significant information on the effects of pediatric chronic conditions on generic QOL from the perspectives of children. It is conceivable that an immediate multidisciplinary approach to patients with T1DM can be responsible for this differences.