Health-related quality of life of preschool children who stutter

• Results on the CHQ were comparable for preschool CWS and reference populations.
• For preschool CWS, stuttering severity and TSO were not related to HrQoL.
• Overall, the results do not show that the HrQoL of preschool CWS is diminished.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to compare the health-related quality of life (HrQoL) of preschool children who stutter (CWS) and a reference population of children who do not stutter, and to evaluate the association between stuttering severity and HrQoL.MethodsBaseline data were used from 197 children participating in a multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial in the Netherlands. Information on stuttering severity and time since onset (TSO) of stuttering was obtained from the baseline evaluation by speech- and language therapists. Stuttering severity was measured using the SSI-3. HrQoL was assessed using proxy versions of two Child Health Questionnaires (ITQOL-97 and CHQ-PF28), the Health Utility Index 3 (HUI3) and the EuroQoL EQ-VAS (EQ-VAS).ResultsWhile the outcomes on the EQ-VAS and the HUI3 showed that the HrQoL of CWS is slightly poorer than that of the Dutch reference population, results on the different dimensions of the CHQ-instruments did not reveal any difference in scores between stuttering children and reference groups. Within the group of CWS, two ITQOL-97 and four CHQ-PF28 scales showed statistically different scores for children in different SSI stuttering severity or TSO categories. However, the effect sizes showed that these differences were so small that they could be considered negligible.ConclusionThe results of this study do not reveal a diminished HrQoL for preschool CWS. Future research should include a larger cohort of children with severe stuttering, study the longitudinal course of HrQoL and incorporate additional parameters such as the characteristics of the child and his environment.Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (a) summarize the current evidence base on HrQoL in people who stutter; (b) describe the HrQoL of preschool CWS on different HrQoL measures; (c) describe the relationship between stuttering severity and HrQoL in preschool CWS.