Quality of Life in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children can significantly affect their daily functioning and may have consequences extending into adulthood. Evaluating patients’ quality of life (QoL) is essential to guide medical and supportive interventions and to optimize their capacity to participate meaningfully within their communities. Objectives: To determine whether the QoL of children with CKD is lower than that of healthy children and to identify the specific domains most affected. Methods: This analytic cross-sectional study was conducted from July to October 2023 at Ngoerah Hospital and selected schools in Denpasar. Participants were matched by age group and sex. Healthy children and children with CKD (aged 2 months to 18 years) and their parents completed The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scales version 4.0. The Chi-square and Wilcoxon tests were applied, with a significance level of P < 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval. Results: Children with CKD demonstrated significantly lower QoL compared with healthy controls: 48.9% impairment based on child self-report ( P < 0.001; prevalence ratio = 3.67; 95% CI: 1.6–8.2) and 53.2% based on parent proxy-report ( P < 0.001; 95% CI: 2.7–25.7). In the child self-report, physical ( P < 0.001), school ( P < 0.001), and social ( P = 0.012) domains were significantly affected. All quality-of-life domains were significantly impaired according to parent proxy-reports. Conclusions: Conclusions: Children with CKD have significantly lower QoL than healthy children based on both self-reports and parent proxy-reports. Quality of life impairments was documented in physical, school, and social domains.