The following is a summary of “Change in Health-Related Quality of Life in Youth with Chronic Hepatitis B Living in North America: A 5-Year Cohort Study,” published in the December 2023  issue of Pediatrics by Schwarzenberg, et al.

Youth with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who are not getting treatment have lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) when they have more hepatitis-related symptoms. No one knows how HRQoL improves over time in this group of people. The Hepatitis B Research Network is made up of kids from 7 hepatology centers in North America who tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen but were not on antiviral treatment. 

Participants aged 10 to 17 years old filled out the Child Health Questionnaire Child Report (CHQ-CF87), a standardized self-report HRQoL measure, once a year. It included biographical questions, liver disease symptoms, and lab tests. Researchers used linear mixed-effects models to look at the 10 CHQ-CF87 subscale scores over 5 years for people who had taken the CHQ-CF87 at least twice. Most people who took the CHQ-CF87 (N = 174) did it four times. At the start, the median age was 12 years (interquartile range: 10–14 years), 60% were women, 79% were Asian, and 47% had been adopted. 

At the start, the CHQ-CF87 subscale scores were high (median range: 75.4–100) and didn’t change over time. The only subscale that did change was the Family Activities subscale, which had a mean score of 82.3 [79.8–84.8] at the start and a score of 90.8 [86.1–94.6] at week 240. Most of the subscale scores didn’t change enough from person to person over time to be used to test predictions. Being White instead of Asian indicated a better change in behavior (6.5 [95% CI: 2.0–11.0]). Mental Health was less likely to improve with age (-0.8 [95% CI: −1.36 to −0.23] per year). It wasn’t linked to changes in hepatitis B proteins, DNA, or the number of symptoms that these subscale levels went up or down. In conclusion, HRQoL was usually good and stable over 5 years in young people with CHB.

Source: journals.lww.com/jpgn/abstract/2023/12000/change_in_health_related_quality_of_life_in_youth.9.aspx