ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether intervention using a multidisciplinary approach affects maternal mental health, parenting stress, and sense of parenting competence in children with feeding disorder and failure to thrive (FTT). METHODS: Children with feeding disorder and FTT were randomized to the intervention group (N=11) or control group (N=8). We administered the Korean standardization of Parent Temperament Questionnaire for Children (K-PTQ) in both groups before intervention, and the Korean version of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (K-PSI-SF), Korean version of the Parenting Sense of Competence (K-PSOC), Korean version of the Beck's Depression Inventory (K-BDI), Korean version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (K-BAI), and Korean version of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (K-MDQ) in both groups before and after the intervention. RESULTS: In the intervention group, the K-BDI (p=.068), K-BAI (p=.068), and K-MDQ (p=.066) scores tended to show a decline, the K-PSI-SF scores for stress related to child learning showed a significant decline, and the K-PSOC scores for sense of parenting competence showed significant improvement. However, no significant changes were observed in the control group. CONCLUSION: Use of a multidisciplinary approach improved maternal mental health, parenting stress, and sense of competence. Comparison of these results with those of normal control will be necessary in a future study.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Anxiety , Depression , Failure to Thrive , Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood , Learning , Mental Competency , Mental Health , Mood Disorders , Mothers , Parenting , Parents , Stress, Psychological , Temperament , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Our study aimed to examine the relationship between intelligence and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children (6-13 years old) diagnosed as having a brain tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We administered a Korean version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, version 4.0 (PedsQL), the Korean version of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and the Korean Version of the Parenting Sense of Competence (K-PSOC) scale before or after initial radiotherapy (T1) and after treatment termination (T2). In total, 13 patients completed both the T1 and T2 interviews. RESULTS: Scores significantly declined between T1 and T2 on the full-scale intelligence quotients (FIQ), verbal intelligence quotients (VIQ), performance intelligence quotients (PIQ), similarity and coding tests, as well as the K-PSOC, which measures parental anxiety. FIQ scores at T1 were correlated with the self-reported PedsQL total scores (r=0.739) and the parent proxy-report PedsQL scores for school functioning (r=0.706) at T2. Also, the FIQ scores at T2 were correlated with the self-reported PedsQL total scores (r=0.748) and scores for physical health (r=0.728) at T2. CONCLUSION: The cognitive ability and intelligence level of the patients significantly declined between on and off treatment periods, and higher intelligence functioning at both on and off treatment was correlated with long-term higher HRQOL. Further investigations that monitor intelligence, HRQOL and parenting stress over a longer period, using a greater number of participants, are needed.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Anxiety , Brain Neoplasms/complications , Cognition , Intelligence Tests , Longitudinal Studies , Parenting , Parents/psychology , Prospective Studies , Quality of Life , Stress, Psychological/diagnosis , Time FactorsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the cognitive functions of pediatric cancer patients and to test the hypotheses that the impairment of processing speed and working memory are more prevalent in children with medulloblastoma (MBL) compared to children with neuroblastoma (NBL). METHODS: We gave the Korean version of the Wechsler Intelligent Scale for Children-III to 21 children with MBL and 24 children with NBL during outpatient follow-up after the treatment was completed. RESULTS: Children with MBL showed below average performance across most of the sub-tests. The full scale IQ, verbal IQ, and performance IQ of children with MBL were significantly lower than those of children with NBL. There were significant differences between two groups in coding and Digit Span subtest scores. Children with MBL performed especially poorly in the coding subtest. CONCLUSION: These findings support previous reports of generally low IQ and the dysfunction of processing speed and working memory among children with MBL, a kind of central nervous system tumor. Further investigation is needed to determine how the deficit of processing speed and working memory affect neurocognitive development and general intelligent functions.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Central Nervous System , Clinical Coding , Follow-Up Studies , Medulloblastoma , Memory, Short-Term , Neuroblastoma , OutpatientsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the cognitive functions of pediatric cancer patients and to test the hypotheses that the impairment of processing speed and working memory are more prevalent in children with medulloblastoma (MBL) compared to children with neuroblastoma (NBL). METHODS: We gave the Korean version of the Wechsler Intelligent Scale for Children-III to 21 children with MBL and 24 children with NBL during outpatient follow-up after the treatment was completed. RESULTS: Children with MBL showed below average performance across most of the sub-tests. The full scale IQ, verbal IQ, and performance IQ of children with MBL were significantly lower than those of children with NBL. There were significant differences between two groups in coding and Digit Span subtest scores. Children with MBL performed especially poorly in the coding subtest. CONCLUSION: These findings support previous reports of generally low IQ and the dysfunction of processing speed and working memory among children with MBL, a kind of central nervous system tumor. Further investigation is needed to determine how the deficit of processing speed and working memory affect neurocognitive development and general intelligent functions.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Central Nervous System , Clinical Coding , Follow-Up Studies , Medulloblastoma , Memory, Short-Term , Neuroblastoma , OutpatientsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare health-related quality of life (HRQOL), activities of daily living (ADL), and parenting stress between children with brain tumors and those of normal control (NC). METHODS: Participants were 31 brain tumor patients who had received chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation after surgical resection and 125 NC subjects. We administered the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, version 4.0 (PedsQL), to assess HRQOL; the Korean version of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (K-PSI-SF), to assess parenting stress; and examined ADL. RESULTS: The mean self-report PedsQL scores for physical health, emotional functioning, social functioning, school functioning, and total scores in the patients were significantly lower than those of the NC group. The mean parent proxy-report PedsQL scores for all scales except emotional functioning in the patient group were significantly lower than those of the NC group. The ADL impairment for the patients was significantly more than that of the NC group. The K-PSI-SF mean scores for stress related to having a difficult child and for stress related to parent-child interaction in the patient group tended to be higher than those of the NC group (p=0.09). CONCLUSION: The children with brain tumors had lower HRQOL and difficulties in performing ADL. The parents of children with brain tumors tended to experience stress related to having a difficult child and to parent-child interaction. We suggest that long-term monitors for the child's HRQOL and ADL, and parenting stress in children with brain tumors are needed.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Activities of Daily Living , Brain , Brain Neoplasms , Parenting , Parents , Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation , Quality of Life , Weights and MeasuresABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: We compared the parameters of the sleep-wake rhythm in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients to those of normal elderly subjects, to illustrate how the characteristics of circadian rhythm relate to a specific neurocognitive function. METHODS: We selected 12 MCI patients and 12 age- and sex-matched normal control (NC) subjects and administered the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (CERAD-K) Neuropsychological battery and Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT) to each subject. We measured each subject's sleep-wake rhythm by applying actigraphy for 96 hours. The sleep-wake rhythm was examined by cosinor analysis. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the amplitude or acrophase of the sleep-wake rhythms between the NC and MCI groups. In the combined group, amplitude was positively correlated with Constructional Praxis scores (r=0.434, p<0.05), and acrophases tended to be positively correlated with Word List Memory scores (r=0.370, p=0.07). CONCLUSION: There was no difference between MCI patients' sleep-wake rhythm's amplitude and acrophase and those of NC subjects. Furthermore, decreased amplitude was associated with impaired visuospatial function in the combined group. It will be necessary to confirm this result in an expanded MCI group in a future study.