Asthma severity and child quality of life in pediatric asthma: A systematic review

Objective: To systematically review evidence of asthma severity as a correlate of child quality of life (QOL) in pediatric asthma. Methods: Online bibliographic databases (PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and MEDLINE) were used to identify relevant studies that specifically considered the relationship between asthma severity and child QOL. Results: Fourteen studies matching inclusion and exclusion criteria were reviewed. Asthma severity was significantly related to child QOL in nine of these studies. Informant of QOL and type of QOL measure were found to influence the strength of the relationship between severity and child QOL in pediatric asthma. Conclusions: Findings suggest that asthma severity is a correlate of child QOL. Children whose asthma symptoms are not well-managed are likely to experience an impaired level of QOL. Findings also suggest the need to utilize asthma-specific QOL measures and an informant of QOL other than the child's parent in order to receive the most accurate information about the child's level of functioning. Practice implications: Researchers and healthcare providers basing clinical outcomes on QOL assessments should consider asthma severity in their evaluations. Further, researchers and healthcare providers should recognize the continued need to reduce asthma severity and improve asthma symptom control in their attempts to improve the QOL of children with asthma.