Health-related quality of life in teenagers with a parent with cancer

Elisabeth Jeppesen; Ingvar Bjelland; Sophie D Fosså; Jon H Loge; Alv A Dahl

doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2016.03.004

Health-related quality of life in teenagers with a parent with cancer

Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2016 Jun:22:46-53. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2016.03.004. Epub 2016 Apr 6.

Authors

Elisabeth Jeppesen¹, Ingvar Bjelland², Sophie D Fosså³, Jon H Loge⁴, Alv A Dahl³

Affiliations

¹ National Advisory Unit on Late Effects after Cancer Treatment, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet, Norway; Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: elijep@ous-hf.no.
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
³ National Advisory Unit on Late Effects after Cancer Treatment, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet, Norway; Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
⁴ National Advisory Unit on Late Effects after Cancer Treatment, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet, Norway; Department of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

PMID: 27179892
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejon.2016.03.004

Abstract

Purpose: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in teenagers exposed to parental cancer has shown divergent results as an outcome measure. In this study we wanted to: 1) compare the HRQoL of teenagers exposed to parental cancer (CASES) with normative European HRQoL data (NORMs) measured close to parental diagnosis and treatment; 2) study changes in the HRQoL of CASES from baseline to follow-up; 3) explore sex differences in the HRQoL of CASES; and 4) explore eventual confounders of HRQoL of CASES at baseline.

Methods: Forty-five families with one parent diagnosed with primary invasive cancer were included, these families had 69 teenagers. At the follow-up, 26 families with 29 teenagers complied. Both parents and teenagers filled in electronic questionnaires over the Internet. HRQoL in teenagers was self-rated by the KIDSCREEN-27 at baseline and follow-up, and the responses were compared to a European normative sample (NORMs).

Results: 1) The teenagers scored significantly lower on the Physical well-being dimension compared to the NORMs at baseline, while no significant differences were observed concerning the four other HRQoL dimensions. 2) Some significant improvements were observed on HRQoL dimensions from baseline to follow-up. 3) CASES girls showed a trend towards lower HRQoL scores compared to boys. 4) Parental cancer-related characteristics and family function were not related to teenagers' HRQoL, but so were teenagers' self-esteem.

Conclusions: At group level, living with a parent who receives curative treatment for a recently diagnosed cancer affects teenagers' HRQoL to certain extent. Self-esteem is a confounder to teenagers' HRQoL in our sample.

Keywords: HRQoL; KIDSCREEN; Parental cancer; Teenagers.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Child of Impaired Parents / psychology*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms / pathology
Neoplasms / psychology*
Neoplasms / therapy
Norway
Parents
Quality of Life*
Self Concept
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult