Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2001;85:F165-F169 ( November )

Quality of life in young adults with very low birth weight

S J Dinesen, G Greisen

Department of Neonatology, Rigshopitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

Correspondence to: Professor Greisen greisen{at}rh.dk

Accepted 25 June 2001

OBJECTIVESTo assess quality of life (QoL) in a group of young adults born in 1980-1982 with very low birth weight (VLBW) and to compare this with a reference group and a similar cohort born eight years earlier.
DESIGNTelephone interview using a fully structured questionnaire.
SETTINGLevel 3 neonatal intensive care unit.
PATIENTSVLBW group (n = 92, 90% participation rate), LBW group (n = 119, 86%), normal birth weight/reference group (n = 69, 75%).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESObjective and subjective QoL.
RESULTSObjective QoL in the VLBW subgroup who did not report a handicap or chronic health problem was lower than in the reference group (median 0.79 v 0.84, p = 0.02). Objective QoL was 0.81 in the similar LBW subgroup whereas it was only 0.72 in the group of 13 VLBW and nine LBW subjects who reported a handicap or chronic health problem. Interestingly, subjective QoL did not differ between the VLBW subgroup and the reference group (median 0.87 v 0.88, p = 0.5). On comparing the VLBW subgroup in the 1980-1982 cohort with the similar VLBW subgroup in the 1971-1974 cohort, objective QoL had apparently increased.
CONCLUSIONThe VLBW young adults had a lower objective QoL than the reference group, whereas the subjective QoL was similar. Objective QoL in Danish youngsters has apparently increased over the past eight years.


Keywords: very low birth weight; quality of life; follow up; telephone interview

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© 2001 by Archives of Disease in Childhood
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