Physical activity and quality of life among children with CHD: a cross-sectional analysis

Abstract Objectives: To describe the quality of life and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity level among children with CHD compared to children without CHD and to examine whether the association between these variables is modified by CHD or gender. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis draws from a larger longitudinal study and included participants aged 5–10 years with or without any CHD and living in British Columbia, Canada. Parents/guardians completed the parent-proxy PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales, providing a PedsQL Total Score out of 100. Children wore an Ametris GT3X accelerometer for 7 consecutive days to measure moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (min/day). Generalised linear regression models were used for group and gender comparisons. An adjusted linear regression model was used to examine the association between physical activity and quality of life. Results: 166 children (41% girls; n = 78 CHD, n = 88 non-CHD) were included in the analysis. Children with CHD had poorer PedsQL Total Scores ( p = 0.002) and accumulated less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than the non-CHD group ( p = 0.008). Among children with CHD, girls accumulated less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than boys ( p < 0.001) and had poorer PedsQL Total Scores than boys ( p = 0.035). The association between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (min/day) and PedsQL Total Score was significantly modified by CHD ( p = 0.012), with a positive association found for children with CHD ( β = 0.17 [95% confidence interval: 0.04, 0.29], p = 0.011), which was not modified by gender ( p = 0.241). Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to support the physical and psychosocial health of children with CHD, particularly girls with CHD.