Paralytic poliomyelitis: Quality of life of adolescent survivors

Polio survivors are prone to secondary health problems that may negatively affect their quality of life (QoL), but the impact of paralytic poliomyelitis on QoL of its Nigerian survivors has not been reported in literature. We investigated and compared the QoL of Nigerian paralytic polio survivors (PPS) and age- and sex-matched apparently healthy controls (AHC). Seventy-three (45 males and 28 female) consecutive adolescent PPS and an equal number of AHC participated in the cross-sectional survey. Participants' QoL was assessed using the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale—Adolescent. Data were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U-test and two-sample t-test at the 0.05 alpha level. There were no significant differences between the ages of PPS (14.16 ± 2.01 years) and AHC (14.18 ± 2.02 years), and between the ages of male (13.93 ± 2.16 years) and female PPS (14.30 ± 2.02 years). Polio survivors scored significantly lower than AHC in health, productivity, community, emotion and spiritual domains, and overall QoL. The PPS scored significantly higher (p < 0.001) on the subjective than objective axis in five of the seven domains of Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale—Adolescent. Paralytic polio has a significant impact on health, productivity, community, and emotion domains of QoL, hence the need for interventions targeting identified affected domains to enhance polio survivors' QoL.