Quality of life of down syndrome children with gastrointestinal disorders using pediatric quality of life inventoryTM (PedsqlTM) assessment

GI disorders affect the quality of children. Children with Down syndrome have a high prevalence of GI disorders. This study aims to determine the life quality of Down syndrome children with GI disorders. This is a cross-sectional study using the PedsQL GI Symptoms Scale questionnaire & the ROME IV Diagnostic Questionnaire for Pediatric Functional Gastrointestinal Disorder for Children & Adolescents. Samples of Down syndrome children were collected in January-May 2022. The analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. The study samples include 101 Down syndrome children aged 2-18 years. Nonstructural GI disorders consist of those with GERD (8.9%), those with GERD & diarrhea (1%), those with GERD & constipation (1%), those with diarrhea 3%, and those with constipation 18.8%. Structural GI disorders consist of those with duodenal atresia, Hirschsprung's disease, duodenal stenosis with annular pancreas, and anal atresia (1%, 3%,1%, and 4%, respectively). Down syndrome children without GI disorders had a good quality of life, while 51.5% of Down syndrome children with nonstructural GI disorders have a poor quality of life. The quality of life is impaired on the sub-symptom scale of food and drink limits, swallowing trouble, heartburn and reflux, gas and bloating, constipation, blood in bowel movements