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Gender differences in trajectories of health-related quality of life from childhood to adolescence in a 7-year follow-up study in a urban socially disadvantaged sample from Argentina

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Abstract

Purpose

The transition from childhood to adolescence is a period of developmental changes, with social influences. Few previous studies have analyzed changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during childhood and adolescence based on longitudinal studies in high-income countries. This study aimed to describe the evolution of HRQoL scores by gender in a school sample over a 7-year period in Argentina.

Methods

Prospective cohort of children attending fourth grade in public schools. HRQoL was measured using the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire. Trajectories of HRQoL were estimated for girls and boys through multilevel models, adjusted by socioeconomic status (SES).

Results

The study began in 2014 with a sample of 494 school children, reaching an 85.6% response rate in 2016, 31.4% in 2018, and 41.9% in 2021. Most of the predicted scores are negatively associated with linear age or/and quadratic age, suggesting a decrease in scores over the 7-year follow-up. Interactions between gender and age denote an increase in the differences in scores between girls and boys over time in favor of the latter. For the Index, Physical Well-being, Psychological Well-being, Autonomy, Parent relations, Social support and peers and Financial resources, individuals with medium or high SES have significantly higher scores than those with low SES.

Conclusions

HRQoL scores decrease during the transition period from childhood to adolescence, with girls showing the greatest decrease. There were also socioeconomic inequalities in the evolution of HRQoL in a context characterized by social segregation and economic crisis, possibly aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Data availability

Data will be made available on request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the authorities of the Secretariat of Education, Municipality of Córdoba, as well as the Ministry of Education, Province of Córdoba, for their endorsement to carry out this work in educational centers. We also express our gratitude to the directors, teachers, parents, students, and staff of the municipal primary schools that helped us to conduct the fieldwork for our study. We acknowledge many colleagues and members of the research group who supported this project: Julieta Lavin Fueyo, Emilse Degoy, Carolina Rivera, Romina Vitale, María Eugenia Esandi, Ezequiel Jouglard, María Dolores Román, Ana Moos, Gabriela Reartes, and Romina Mántaras.

Funding

This project has been supported by state funds since 2014, including those of Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, through the Fund for Scientific and Technological Research (FONCYT), grants 141/13 to PICT-2012-1173, and 301/18 to PICT-2017-1689; and the National University of Córdoba, through grants of the Secretary of Science and Technology (SECYT) 1565/2014, 313/2016, and 411/2018.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Silvina Berra

    Present address: Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Av. Valparaíso s/n. Ciudad Universitaria, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Av. Valparaíso s/n. Ciudad Universitaria, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina

    María Eugenia Bernaschini

  2. Escuela de Salud Pública, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

    Silvina Berra

  3. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía, Física y Computación, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

    María Eugenia Bernaschini

  4. Escuela de Nutrición, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

    Verónica Mamondi

  5. Pediatrician and Public Health Specialist. Retired, Barcelona, Spain

    Luis Rajmil

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  1. Silvina Berra
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  3. Verónica Mamondi
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  4. Luis Rajmil
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Contributions

SB is the principal investigator of the research project, who was involved in the conceptualization and design of this study and its instruments, directed the whole investigation processes, and wrote the initial draft. MEB is a postdoctoral fellow, and created the statistical model, conducted the techniques to analyze the study data, and contributed to the initial draft. VM assisted in the study design, directed the data collection throughout the longitudinal study maintaining research data for initial use, and carried out the preliminary data analysis. LR is senior researcher, and contributed to the conceptualization and design of the study. All authors provided input from theoretical and methodological perspectives, contributed to the interpretation of results, and reviewed and approved the finished manuscript.

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Correspondence to Silvina Berra.

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Berra, S., Bernaschini, M.E., Mamondi, V. et al. Gender differences in trajectories of health-related quality of life from childhood to adolescence in a 7-year follow-up study in a urban socially disadvantaged sample from Argentina. Qual Life Res 33, 183–193 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-023-03515-w

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