Quality-of-life assessment in childhood asthma: A cross-sectional validation of the mini version of Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire in Indian children

<bold>Background:</bold> Asthmatic children and their parents ' quality of life assessment is increasingly recognized. Mini Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ), which comprises 13 questions with division among the three domains, is easy to administer even in busy asthma clinics. <bold>Objective:</bold> To evaluate the utility of the Mini-Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (MiniPAQLQ) in assessing the quality of life (QoL) in childhood asthma. <bold>Methods:</bold> Children aged 7-16 years were enrolled. Asthma control was assessed using the Asthma Control Test (ACT), Childhood ACT (CACT), Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ), and Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) criteria. QoL was assessed using the MiniPAQLQ. <bold>Results:</bold> We enrolled 139 children (79.8% boys). A higher QoL score (overall and subscale) was associated with better asthma control by CACT, ACT, ACQ, and GINA criteria. MiniPAQLQ overall score showed a moderate-strong correlation (CACT 0.76, ACQ -0.72, ACT 0.67 and GINA 0.62) and was linearly associated with ACT (R2 = 0.57), CACT (R2 = 0.62) and ACQ (R2 = 0.64) scores. There was a strong association between the GINA criteria and the overall score (OR = 11.56, 95% CI: 4.9-27.26). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> The MiniPAQLQ is a valid tool for assessing the QoL, with higher scores reflecting better childhood asthma control. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA2248/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>