Introduction:

Health related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and caregivers are thought to be affected negatively, but exact measures and domains have not been clearly determined.

Methods

The HRQOL of children aged 3 -12yrs with ASD (DSM-V criteria) as measured by PedsQL-TM (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory TM) Version 4.0 was compared with age and sex matched controls. Correlation of HRQOL with severity of autism {Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) score}, development/intelligence quotient (Development Profile 3), behavioral co-morbidities {Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)} and sleep disturbances {Childhood Sleep Health Questionnaire (CSHQ)},HRQOL of caregivers by World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL), General stress levels of parents{ Parenting Stress Index(PSI)} and coping strategies of parents( COPE inventory) were also analyzed..

Results:

141 children each with ASD and age and sex matched controls were enrolled between August 2017 and April 2018. HRQOL of ASD children (p=0.0001) and caregivers (p=0.001) were significantly impaired as compared to controls. The HRQOL of autism children had strong negative correlation with severity of autism (CARS score){co-relation coefficient(r) = 0.63), moderate negative correlation with behavioral co-morbidities(r=0.57), total stress of parents(r=0.53), development quotient(r=0.51) and sleep disturbance (r=0.46). Commonest coping strategies of parents were suppression of competing activities, behavioral disengagement, mental disengagement and religious coping. Parents of children with hyperactivity and CSHQ score>41 had more impairment in HRQOL and parental stress(p=0.02 and 0.04 respectively).

Conclusion:

Impairment of HRQOL of autism children correlates with the severity of autism and behavioral co-morbidities.