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Cited by 36Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentChronic Disease Management StrategiesHealth Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life

The relationship between physical and mental health multimorbidity and children’s health-related quality of life

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O’Loughlin, Rachel, Hiscock, Harriet, Pan, Tianxin, Devlin, Nancy, Dalziel, Kim·2022·Quality of Life Research
DOI 10.1007/s11136-022-03095-1PMC PMC9188523
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Abstract

Purpose: To examine the relationships between physical health problems, and borderline or clinical levels of mental health symptoms and children’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods: Data were from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children(2004–2018). Parents reported on their child’s HRQoL (PedsQL), physical health problems and mental health symptoms (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ). A pooled cross-sectional analysis using linear regressions examined the relationships between physical health and clinical/borderline mental health symptoms, individually and when multi-morbid, and children’s HRQoL, and whether these relationships vary by a range of child, family and social factors. Results: The sample comprised 47,567 observations of children aged 4–17 years. Borderline and clinical levels of mental health symptoms were associated with significantly lower HRQoL, equal to more than two-times (10.5 points) and more than three-times (16.8 points) the clinically meaningful difference, respectively. This was a larger difference than that associated with physical health problems (4.4 points). We found a significant interaction effect between physical health problems and clinical mental health symptoms which was associated with even poorer HRQoL after accounting for the individual relationships of both problems. Mental health problems were associated with poorer HRQoL for older versus younger children; and the interaction effect was significant for boys but not girls. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of identifying and addressing mental health symptoms in children of all ages, even if these problems do not meet formal clinical criteria. Particular attention should be paid to the mental health and HRQoL of children with physical–mental multimorbidity, who are at risk of disproportionately poorer HRQoL.

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  • Studies investigating the relationship between GJH and musculoskeletal pain in children have produced conflicting results.

    “The progression of GJH to symptomatic GJH remains uncertain, 10,11 and studies investigating the relationship between GJH and musculoskeletal pain in children have produced conflicting results. 11–16”

    From No association between joint hypermobility, musculoskeletal pain and neurodevelopmental problems in a school-based sample of 11-year-old children (2025) · cites this paper as [11]

    The Introduction discusses mixed findings about physical–mental multimorbidity and children’s health-related quality of life, not generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) and musculoskeletal pain. Searches for GJH, hypermobility, and musculoskeletal pain found no passage in our copy addressing the claimed conflicting results. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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  • Two subsequent cross-sectional studies predominantly reported no associations between GJH and musculoskeletal pain.

    “Two subsequent cross-sectional studies also predominantly reported no associations. 11,14”

    From No association between joint hypermobility, musculoskeletal pain and neurodevelopmental problems in a school-based sample of 11-year-old children (2025) · cites this paper as [11]

    The Introduction discusses associations between physical–mental multimorbidity and children’s health-related quality of life, not between generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) and musculoskeletal pain. Searches of our full-text copy for GJH, hypermobility, and musculoskeletal pain found no passage addressing the claimed findings from two cross-sectional studies. The copy provides no page numbers for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Research works printed but not linked: 45

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Authors
O’Loughlin, R., Hiscock, H., Pan, T., Devlin, N., & Dalziel, K.
Affiliations
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
  • Royal Children's Hospital (AU)
Corresponding author
O’Loughlin, Rachel
ORCID
Venue
Quality of Life Research
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2022-01-29
Volume
31
Issue
7
Pages
2119-2131
ISSN
  • 0962-9343 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-2649
DOI
10.1007/s11136-022-03095-1
PMC
PMC9188523
OpenAlex
W4210634802
Cited by
36
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 3
FWCI
6.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Quality of Life Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • University of Melbourne and Commonwealth Government of Australia (Research Training Program Scholarship)
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (Career Development Fellowship (1068947))
  • University of Melbourne
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Chronic Disease Management Strategies
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
Keywords
multimorbidity, physical health problems, psychiatric symptoms, health-related quality of life, children, PedsQL, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, sex differences, age differences
MeSH terms
Multimorbidity, Australia, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mental Health, Parents, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires

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