Quality of Life of Patients Under 15 Years of Age with Myelomeningocele on Follow up at Zewditu Memorial and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study
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Date
2025-02-15
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background – Africa was shown to have a high pooled birth prevalence of neural tube defects. Despite the use of preventative measures, the prevalence of neural tube defects in Ethiopia is seven times higher than in other Western nations. Despite the heavy burden, there have been relatively few studies on the quality of life of children with myelomeningocele, particularly at the multidisciplinary level. The long-term quality of life is impacted by MMC.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess quality of patients under 15 years of age with Myelomeningocele On follow-up at Zewditu Memorial and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospitals.
Methods: The study was a multicenter cross-sectional study that was carried out at the neurosurgery clinics of Zewditu Memorial and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital between September 2024 and February 2025. Data was gathered from patients who met the requirements using a simple random sampling method and questionnaires that the parents completed with the researcher's help. Version 25 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to enter the data for any ensuing descriptive and analytical statistics. In terms of statistics, a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to indicate a significant association .
Result: A total of 215 study participants participated during the study period, yielding a 95.9% response rate. 54 percent of the children were female, and the majorities (89.8%) were between the ages of 0 and 7. The study's overall QoL result was 45.1±20.24. Comparing school functioning (33.43±18.56) and emotional functioning (36.5±16.85) to other general scoring measures, the QoL values were lower. With a mean score of 56.6±30.71, physical functioning was the highest, followed by social functioning (38.17±23.78). Our research reveals a strong relationship between household income and HRQoL, with higher-income households reporting higher HRQoL ratings. When compared to patients with concomitant conditions, MMc patients without comorbidity have a higher overall quality of life.
Conclusion In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrated that, in comparison to several studies conducted in other nations, children with MMC at Zewditu and Black Lion Hospital Neurosurgery unit had usually low quality of life assessment scores. Additionally, when compared to other generic scoring scales, the QoL ratings were higher for physical functioning and lower for school functioning.
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Quality of life of patients under