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Springer Verlag, Quality of Life Research, 4(26), p. 935-943

DOI: 10.1007/s11136-016-1410-7

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Neonatal treatment philosophy in Dutch and German NICUs : health-related quality of life in adulthood of VP/VLBW infants

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This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

Purpose: Although survival after very preterm birth (VP)/very low birth weight (VLBW) has improved, a significant number of VP/VLBW individuals develop physical and cognitive problems during their life course that may affect their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We compared HRQoL in VP/VLBW cohorts from two countries: The Netherlands (n = 314) versus Germany (n = 260) and examined whether different neonatal treatment and rates of disability affect HRQoL in adulthood. Method: To analyse whether cohorts differed in adult HRQoL, linear regression analyses were performed for three HRQoL outcomes assessed with the Health Utilities Index 3 (HUI3), the London Handicap Scale (LHS), and the WHO Quality of Life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF). Stepwise hierarchical linear regression was used to test whether neonatal physical health and treatment, social environment, and intelligence (IQ) were related to VP/VLBW adults’ HRQoL and cohort differences. Results: Dutch VP/VLBW adults reported a significantly higher HRQoL on all three general HRQoL measures than German VP/VLBW adults (HUI3: .86 vs .83, p = .036; LHS: .93 vs. .90, p = .018; WHOQOL-BREF: 82.8 vs. 78.3, p