The Quality of Life of Children with Precocious Puberty and Healthy Children in Turkey.

Objectives

We compared the quality of life (QoL) in children with precocious puberty (PP) and healthy children aged 8-12 years.

Methods

This descriptive and comparative study was conducted with 105 children with a diagnosis of PP and another 105 healthy children. We collected data using a Descriptive Information Form and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL).

Results

The mean overall PedsQL score (OS) was 78.71 ± 10.84 for children with PP and 82.43 ± 9.81 for healthy children (p < .05). The mean PedsQL Proxy-Report OS was 74.51 ± 13.27 for children with PP and 81.90 ± 9.86 for healthy children (p < .001).

Conclusions

We found QoL of children with PP was lower than that of healthy children. In this context, pediatric nurses may have a role in early identification of children with PP and provide psychosocial support using a multidisciplinary approach to counseling.