Abstract

Objective: To examine the impact of previously operated complex congenital heart disease on health related quality of life and subjective health status and to determine the relation between these parameters and physical status.

Design: Cross sectional; information on medical follow up was sought retrospectively.

Setting: Patients were randomly selected from the archives of the paediatric cardiology department, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands, and approached irrespective of current cardiac care or hospital of follow up.

Patients: Seventy eight patients with previously operated complex congenital heart disease (now aged 18–32 years) were compared with the general population.

Main outcome measures: Health related quality of life was determined with a specifically developed questionnaire (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research Academic Medical Centre (TNO-AZL) adult quality of life (TAAQOL)) and subjective health status was assessed with the 36 item short form health survey (SF-36). Physical status was determined with the objective physical index, Somerville index, and New York Heart Association functional class.

Results: Health related quality of life of the patients was significantly worse than that of the general population in the dimensions gross motor functioning and vitality (p < 0.01). Correlations between health related quality of life and physical status were poor. Patients had significantly worse subjective health status than the general population in the dimensions physical functioning, role functioning physical, vitality, and general health perceptions (p < 0.01). Correlations between subjective health status and physical indices were weak.

Conclusion: Adult survivors with previously operated complex congenital heart disease experienced limitations only in the physical dimensions of health related quality of life and subjective health status. Objectively measured medical variables were only weakly related to health related quality of life. These results indicate that, when evaluating health related quality of life, dedicated questionnaires such as the TAAQOL should be used.