The association between parents and offspring health-related quality of life: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

Objective (s): 

The current study aimed to investigate the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of parents and their offspring.

This study conducted in the framework of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose study (TLGS) on  564 families including children (297 boys and 267 girls), mothers and fathers. Data on HRQoL of children and parents was collected by interviews using Persian version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™4.0) and the Short-Form Health Survey version 2 (SF-12v2) respectively. Asssociations between HRQoL of parents and offspring were assessed using regression models by SPSS software (Version 23).

Mean(sd) age of participants was 13.8(3.1) years and 52.7% were boys. Comparision of HRQol scores in boys and girls indicated that boys had higher HRQoL scores in physicql functioning [91.2(10.3) vs. 89.1(11.1), p=0.019] and emotional functioning [77.2(16.9) vs. 72.8(18.9), p=0.003]. Parental physical and mental HRQoL scores did not significantly differ between male and female offspring; however, physical functioning, role emotional and mental health scores were significantly higher in mothers of female compared to male offspring. Both maternal and paternal physical HRQoL scores were not significantly assocaited with offspring’s HRQoL. Maternal mental HRQoL score was significantly associated with physical functioning (β= 0.16, p=0.02) and social functioning (β=0.26, p=0.006) in girls, school functioning in boys (β= 0.19, p=0.007) and emotional functioning in both boys (β= 0.23, p=0.008) and girls (β= 0.24, p=0.04) and paternal mental HRQoL score was significantly associated with only school functioning in boys (β= 0.23, p=0.004). 

The relationship between the HRQoL in parents and children follows a pattern related to the gender of the parent and the child. Maternal mental HRQoL in offspring of both sexes and paternal mental HRQoL only in boys were associated with different subscales of offspring’s HRQoL.