Objectives: To assess characteristics of hospitalized adolescents facing chronic diseases, correlating the perceptions of their illness, quality of life and the prevalence of risk behaviors, considering gender and the diseases' durations.
Methods: The sample consisted of 61 adolescents, aged between 10 and 19 years, with chronic diseases, hospitalized at the University Hospital of the State University of Londrina. They answered a questionnaire and the scales World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) and Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ). They were divided in groups, according to the durations of the disease: group 1 (up to 4 years) and group 2 (5 years or more).
Results: Group 2 demonstrated higher leisure activity (p = 0.02) and more painful symptoms (p = 0.02). In WHOQOL-BREF, group 2 had a higher quality of life in the domain on environment (p = 0.02) and a higher total score (p = 0.04). Lower scores on the IPQ were associated with higher scores on the WHOQOL-BREF. Positive correlation was found between WHOQOL-BREF total score and years of disease, in which male presented higher scores.
Conclusions: These findings may alert to the need for more knowledge about the diseases and the importance of encouraging ways to improve quality of life and care to reduce risky behaviors.
Keywords: adolescents; chronic illness; illness perception; quality of life; risk behaviors.