Health-related quality of life and mental health of adolescents with cerebral palsy in rural Bangladesh.

AIM: To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental health of adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) in rural Bangladesh. METHODS: Case-control study of adolescents with CP (10 to ≤18-years) and age and sex matched controls without disability. Primary caregivers were included for proxy report. HRQoL was measured with Bengali versions CP Quality of Life-Teens (CPQoL-Teens) and KIDSCREEN-27. Mental health was measured with Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). RESULTS: 154 cases and 173 controls matched on age and sex participated (mean age 15.1 (1.6) and 14.9 (1.6) respectively; female n = 48, n = 55 respectively, p>0.05). CPQoL-Teens was administered to adolescents with CP only; mean outcomes ranged from 38.5 (27.4) to 71.5 (16.1) and 'feelings about functioning' was poorest domain for both self- and proxy-report groups. KIDSCREEN-27 was administered to adolescents with CP and controls; adolescents with CP mean outcomes ranged from 25.9 (12.2) to 48.7 (10.56) and were significantly poorer than controls, mean difference 4.3 (95% CI 0.7 to 7.8) to 16.7 (95% CI 14.5 to 18.5), p<0.05. 'Peers and social support' was poorest domain for all groups. In regards to mental health, adolescents with CP reported significantly poorer mean SDQ than peers without disability, mean difference 0.7 (95% CI 0.3 to 1.1) to 7.8 (95% CI 6.7 to 8.9), p<0.05; and were for self-report 7.8 (95% CI 2.6 to 23.0) and proxy-report 12.0 (95% CI 6.9 to 20.9) times more likely to report 'probable' range 'total difficulties' score. Individual item analysis of CPQoL-Teens and KIDSCREEN-27 identified unique areas of concern for adolescents with CP related to pain, friendships, physical activity and energy, what may happen later in life, and feelings about having CP. Financial resources were of concern for both cases and controls. INTERPRETATION: Adolescents with CP in rural Bangladesh are at high risk of poor HRQoL and mental health problems. Effort to reduce the disparity between adolescents with CP and those without disability should consider wellbeing holistically and target dimensions including physical, psychological and social wellbeing. Specific interventions to alleviate modifiable aspects of HRQoL including pain, social isolation, and physical in-activity are recommended.

Interventions to prevent respiratory diseases - Nutrition and the developing world.

Malnutrition is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries and nutrition plays a critical role in both acute and chronic respiratory conditions. Inadequacies in the nutritional requirements of a developing lung in utero and in early life can compromise the respiratory system integrity and result in poor lung function, reduced protection against infections, greater likelihood of acute illnesses in childhood and chronic illness in adulthood. Nutritional interventions harness great potential in reducing respiratory illness related morbidity and mortality in the developing world. In this review we have summarized the findings from published systematic reviews/meta-analysis, experimental and observational studies that looked into different nutritional interventions for preventing respiratory diseases in developing countries.