The Contribution of Neurocognitive Situation, Physical Capacity and
Daily Life Activities to Quality of Life after Childhood Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Abstract
Background There are no extensive studies on the quality of life of (QL)
in children who completed ALL treatment and currently living without any
disease in Turkey. Our study aimed to analyze both the QL and the
effects of physical, neurocognitive capacities on QL of children aged
between 7-12 years who received treatment for ALL. Methods Pediatric
Quality of Life Scale (PedsQL) cancer module 3.0 child and proxy report,
for ages 5-7 and 8-12 years, WeeFIM scale, Bruininks-Oseretsky motor
competency test short form (BOT-2), Raven progressive test
matrices(RPM), reading, writing and mathematics assessment tools and
sociodemographic information form were carried out to obtain information
from the children and their family. Results There was no effect of the
months since the remission on pain, anxiety, cognitive problems,
perceived physical appearance, and the total QL scores of children and
proxy reports (p > 0.05). The physical capacities of
children were significantly worse than healthy controls and have not
reached the level of healthy children even after a long time since
remission. There was a significant association between physical capacity
and daily independent living status(p<0.001). Reading, writing
and mathematical skills were significantly associated with the duration
of remission (p<0.001) and the total score of Raven and PedsQL
of those with mathematical difficulties were significantly lower than
those without any difficulty(p<0.05).