Correlations among Motor Function, Quality of Life, and Caregiver Depression Levels in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the relationships among quality of life, caregiver depression levels, and disease severity, especially motor function, in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: Data were collected through questionnaires using survey and interview from 80 caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. The caregivers' quality of life was measured using medical outcomes study 36-item short form health survey, and level of depression was scored using the beck depression inventory. In addition, children's motor function was evaluated using gross motor function measure-88 and functional independence measure scores. Results: Among 8 domains of medical outcomes study 36-item short form health survey, "physical functioning," "physical role functioning," "mental health," and "bodily pain" domains were significantly correlated to "total" percentage scores of gross motor function measure-88. In addition, "mental health" and "bodily pain" domains were correlated to each sub-dimension, including "lying and rolling," "sitting," "crawling and kneeling," "standing," and "walking, running, and jumping." Similarly, the "running" and "jumping" dimensions including motor function measures correlated with "transfer," "locomotion," and "motor subtotal" of functional independence measure scores. The beck depression inventory scores were negatively correlated to "lying and rolling," "sitting," "crawling and kneeling," and the "total" percentage scores of gross motor function measure-88. The beck depression inventory scores were negatively correlated to "sphincter control," "communication," "social cognition," "cognitive subtotal," and "total" functional independence measure scores. Conclusion: It is necessary to consider the quality of life and emotional problems of caregivers of CP children and support them both physically and psychologically with comprehensive rehabilitation.