Health-related quality of life of mothers of very low birth weight children at the age of five: results from the Newborn Lung Project Statewide Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in mothers of 5-year-old very low birth weight (VLBW) and normal birth weight (NBW) children, with a focus on the role of stress. METHODS: This cohort study is ancillary to the Newborn Lung Project. A telephone interview collected information on symptoms of stress and HRQoL from 297 mothers of VLBW children and 290 mothers of NBW children who were enrolled in the Newborn Lung Project Statewide Cohort Study. Staged multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between caregiver status and maternal HRQoL and the role stress played in this relationship. Additional multiple regression analyses were also used to evaluate the correlates of poor maternal HRQoL among VLBW mothers. RESULTS: Mothers of VLBW children experienced worse physical and mental HRQoL than mothers of NBW children. Adjusted analyses showed that physical HRQoL was significantly different between these mothers (ß: -1.87, P = 0.001); this relationship was attenuated by maternal stress. Among the mothers of VLBW children, stress significantly contributed to adverse HRQoL outcomes when children were aged five. Child behavior problems at the age of two were also associated with worse subsequent maternal mental HRQoL (ß: -0.18, P = 0.004), while each week of neonatal intensive care unit stay was associated with worse physical HRQoL (ß: -0.26, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Caring for a VLBW child is negatively associated with the HRQoL of mothers; this relationship might be, in part, explained by maternal stress. Addressing maternal stress may be an important way to improve long-term HRQoL.

Stress-mediated quality of life outcomes in parents of childhood cancer and brain tumor survivors: a case-control study.

PURPOSE: To determine if caring for a child with cancer or a brain tumor affects parental health and mental health and if and to what extent stress mediates the relationship between case status and parental quality of life. METHODS: In person interviewer-assisted surveys were administered to 74 case dyads (children diagnosed with cancer or a brain tumor and their parents) and 129 control dyads (children without health problems and their parents from a community sample) to assess health-related quality of life and perceived levels of stress. RESULTS: Parents of children with cancer or a brain tumor had significantly worse health-related quality of life, including worse overall mental health. Overall physical health was no different between cases and controls. Staged multivariate analysis revealed that worse health-related quality of life is completely mediated by perceived stress in these parents. CONCLUSIONS: The experience of caring for a child with cancer is not in itself related to poor quality of life, but is related to an increased level of stress that may adversely impact parental mental health and quality of life.