Comparison of Health-Related Quality of Life in Mothers of Children with Spina Bifida and Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Background Spina bifida (SB) is the most common abnormalities in neural tube defects in Iran. The aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life in mothers of children with spina bifida and to compare their quality of life with mothers of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Materials and Methods Two-hundred and three mothers were recruited using the convenience sampling strategy in a cross-sectional study. Quality of life (QOL) in mothers was assessed using a validated Persian version of 36-item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire according to the different levels of Hoffer criteria and types of Spina Bifida of their children. Also, the quality of life of mothers in this study was compared with data on Iranian healthy women and Iranian mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Results This study showed that the Sf-36 scores were significantly different between mothers having Spina Bifida children of different levels of Hoffer criteria and Spina Bifida types in terms of mean of physical component summary and mental component summary scores of SF-36 (P<0.001). In mothers of children with Spina Bifida, the mean SF-36 scores were 27.70 +/- 35.25 that reduced scores than those in the general population (66.5 +/- 39.1). There was no difference between QOL of mothers of children with SB and children with CP (P>0.05). Conclusion This study indicated that mothers of children with Spina Bifida suffer from poor quality of life similar to mothers of children with cerebral palsy, and should create supportive strategies for the physical and psychological aspects of their quality of life.