Duchenne muscular dystrophy: quality of life among 95 patients evaluated using the Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in different stages of the disease, by means of the Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents (LSI-A). The practicality of this scale was also verified. The LSI-A was applied four times to 95 patients with DMD who were undergoing steroid therapy, at three-month intervals. The patients were divided into four groups according to age. The results from the four applications and the inter and intra-examiner concordance were treated statistically. Comparing the different age groups, patients with DMD did not lose QoL, even with disease progression. We concluded that, in spite of the progressive course of the disease, the QoL in patients with DMD does not get worse. The use of a scale that embraces a great diversity of circumstances in patients' lives, without considering clinical aspects excessively, is a good alternative for assessing the QoL of these patients.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Simon,Valdecir A., Resende,Maria Bernardete Dutra, Simon,Margarete A.V.P., Zanoteli,Edmar, Reed,Umbertina Conti
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO 2011
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2011000100005
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!