Objective: To examine associations between disease-related, individual, and contextual risk factors and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of youth with inflammatory bowel disease using a cumulative risk model framework.
Methods: Participants were 50 youth (58% male; M age = 15 years). Youth and parents completed measures of HRQoL, psychological functioning, and family functioning. Disease information was collected from medical record reviews. Medication adherence was electronically monitored via MEMS cap bottles. A cumulative risk index (CRI) was constructed based on disease activity, disease type, gender, anxiety/depression, medication adherence, general family functioning, disease-specific family functioning, and socioeconomic status.
Results: The CRI was associated with all youth- and mother-reported HRQoL domains. Furthermore, contextual domain factors were most consistently associated with youth and maternal reports of HRQoL.
Conclusion: These results show promise in supporting the value of the CRI in identifying potential risk factors for lower HRQoL in a cross-sectional sample.
Keywords: adolescents; inflammatory bowel disease; quality of life.