Children With Chronic Conditions Resilient

Baltimore researchers find children with chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus or asthma are no more anxious or depressed than healthy children.

Susan Immelt of The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing says the children in her study — ranging from age 7 to 11 and diagnosed with conditions such as diabetes mellitus, moderate or severe persistent asthma, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease — are no more anxious or depressed than healthy children.

A commonly held assumption about children with chronic medical conditions is that most are expected to be at higher risk for behavioral and emotional problems, according to Immelt.

Immelt says that the depression and anxiety scores of the children in the study were comparable to those of healthy children with no psychological symptoms.

Condition-related factors such as days missed from school, days of reduced activity and difficulties related to managing children’s pain, medications and diet had a minimal effect on their outlook, according to the study published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing.

However, Immelt underscores the importance of both maternal and child perceptions and notes that maternal worry and maternal perception of the impact of disease on the family has a strong influence on the children’s psychological adjustment.