Family health conditions and parental occupational status modify the relationship between pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and parental health-related quality of life

Julia O'Mahony; Brenda Banwell; Audrey Laporte; Adalsteinn Brown; Lady Bolongaita; Amit Bar-Or; E Ann Yeh; Ruth Ann Marrie

doi:10.1177/13524585221144413

Family health conditions and parental occupational status modify the relationship between pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and parental health-related quality of life

Mult Scler. 2023 Mar;29(3):447-456. doi: 10.1177/13524585221144413. Epub 2023 Jan 19.

Authors

Julia O'Mahony¹, Brenda Banwell², Audrey Laporte³, Adalsteinn Brown⁴, Lady Bolongaita³, Amit Bar-Or⁵, E Ann Yeh⁶, Ruth Ann Marrie⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
² Division of Child Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³ Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada/Canadian Centre for Health Economics, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Center for Neuroinflammation and Experimental Therapeutics and Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada/Division of Neurology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Neurosciences and Mental Health, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

Abstract

Background: The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children with multiple sclerosis (MS) is mediated by the HRQoL of their parents. Understanding factors that modify the relationship between the child's MS diagnosis and parental HRQoL would inform interventions to improve the HRQoL of both parents and children living with MS.

Objective: We evaluated whether the association between an MS diagnosis during childhood and parental HRQoL is modified by the presence of a family health condition or low socioeconomic position (SEP).

Methods: Parents of children with MS or the transient illness, monophasic-acquired demyelinating syndromes (monoADS), were enrolled in a prospective Canadian study. Multivariable models evaluated whether the association between a child's MS diagnosis (vs. monoADS) and parental HRQoL was modified by ⩾1 family health conditions or low SEP.

Results: Two hundred seven parents and their children with MS (n = 65) or monoADS (n = 142) were included. We found a synergistic effect of an MS diagnosis and a family health condition on parental HRQoL. We also found a synergistic effect of having MS and a low SEP on parental HRQoL.

Conclusion: Parents of children with MS who have another family health condition or a low SEP are at particularly high risk for low HRQoL.

Keywords: Pediatric; caregiver; demyelination; health-related quality of life; multiple sclerosis; parent; quality of life.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Canada
Child
Employment
Family Health
Humans
Multiple Sclerosis*
Parents
Prospective Studies
Quality of Life*
Surveys and Questionnaires