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Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: Changes over Time and Associations with Neurodevelopmental and Clinical Factors

  • Pediatric Heart Network
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Medical University of South Carolina
  • University of Toronto
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
  • Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center
  • The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Columbia University
  • Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
  • Carelon Research
  • Children's Hospital Los Angeles
  • Duke University
  • Harvard University

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over time as perceived by parents and to examine associations between neurodevelopmental and clinical factors and patient-reported HRQOL in a large multicenter cohort of children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Study design Longitudinal/cohort. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) was administered to 163 parents/165 Fontan survivors enrolled in the Single Ventricle Reconstruction (SVR) trial follow-up studies. In addition to examination of changes in parent-reported HRQOL over time, univariate associations between clinical and neurodevelopmental measures and concurrent self-reported PedsQL scores were evaluated. Results Despite no significant change in reported heart problems/cardiac symptoms, PedsQL scores reported by parents decreased between SVR II (median age: 6.1 years, interquartile range: 6.0-6.2) and SVR III (median age: 10.9 years, interquartile range: 10.4-11.4) across all domains: total P < .001, physical P = .02, psychosocial P < .001, emotional P < .001, social P ≤ .001, and school P < .001. There was a corresponding increase in proportions with “at risk” impaired HRQOL: total 28% to 39%, physical 27% to 39%, psychosocial 25% to 40%, emotional 20% to 34%, social 22% to 31%, and school 21% to 38%. While there were no significant correlations between medical variables and self-reported PedsQL scores, neurodevelopmental dysfunction across multiple measures was significantly correlated with worse self-reported HRQOL. Conclusions By parent report, HRQOL in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome decreases over time unrelated to their cardiac symptoms and complications. Neurodevelopmental dysfunction is associated with worse patient-reported HRQOL. Routine assessment of neurodevelopmental function and HRQOL is essential to inform interventions to improve outcomes.
Original languageEnglish
Article number114868
Pages (from-to)114868
JournalJournal of Pediatrics
Volume289
Early online date24 Oct 2025
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2026

Keywords

  • congenital heart disease
  • neurodevelopment
  • PedsQL
  • psychosocial
  • quality of life

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