Assessment of Cognitive Function, Fatigue and Health Related Quality of Life in Children With Beta Thalassemia
Condition: Cognitive Change; Beta-Thalassemia; Fatigue; Quality of Life
MeSH terms: Thalassemia; beta-Thalassemia; Fatigue
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      This study aims to:

        -  Assess the cognitive function in children with beta thalassemia

        -  Evaluate the fatigue in beta thalassemic children

        -  Assess the health related quality of life measures in children with beta thalassemia.
    

Detailed description: 
      The cognitive abilities are extremely important for academic achievement. Despite their
      importance, the evaluation of cognitive function is rarely performed for thalassemia
      patients. So it is important to assess it and should be a routine comprehensive care of beta
      thalassemia patients to detect cases that suffer from verbal and performance dysfunction and
      subject them to the learning skills programs, so investigators can monitor any defects or
      problems that could arise early.

      Thalassemia not only affect cognitive abilities, it has also many negative effects on
      physical health; the patients cannot perform activities easily, get fatigued easily and
      quickly. Also, emotional and social health aspects are affected. So, assessing health related
      quality of life is recognized as an indispensable indicator for a general evaluation of
      patients with thalassemia through which valuable evidence could be provided to improve
      treatments and to make effective decisions.

      Cognitive function, fatigue and health related quality of life in children with beta
      thalassemia will be assessed by using valid and reliable scales. All the patients and
      controls will be subjected to assessment using the Arabic version of the Wechsler
      Intelligence Scale for Children which assess cognitive function and provide the output of the
      Verbal comprehension index ,Perceptual reasoning index, processing speed index, working
      memory index and a combined Full-Scale IQ test. The assessment included 15 subtests.

      Health related quality of life will be assessed using the Arabic version of child proxy
      report of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scale (version 4)( PedsQL).
      The PedsQL Inventory Generic Core Scales is a brief 23 items multidimensional instrument
      assessing the physical, emotional, social and school functioning domains. It is a reliable
      and valid tool designed to measure Health related quality of life The fatigue will be
      assessed using the Arabic version of child report of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory
      Multidimensional Fatigue Scale which covers three domains, including General Fatigue (6
      items), Sleep/Rest Fatigue (6 items) and Cognitive Fatigue (6 items) .

      Every child will be evaluated alone in spacious and quiet room free from any visual and
      auditory distractions.
    

Observational model: Other
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Probability Sample
Study population: 
        -  Children diagnosed with beta thalassemia will be recruited from Abo El-Rish Pediatric
             Hospital .(Cairo University Hospitals)

          -  Both genders will be included

          -  Their age range from 8 to 16 years old shouldn't have any associated diseases with
             beta thalassemia