Association Between Aerobic Capacity and Health Related Quality of Life in Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease in Douala Cameroon

Background Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) provides a robust indicator of functional status and overall health in people with congenital heart disease (CHD). However, determinants of CRF and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in this population are not well established. This study aimed to assess the association between aerobic capacity (AC) and HRQoL of adolescents with CHD. Methods This was a cross-sectional prospective hospital-based study on 71 adolescents (12 to 19 years); 54.9% of female outpatients diagnosed with CHD in Douala pediatric cardiology center (24,5% with severe disease condition). Patients underwent anthropometric, body composition (bioelectrical impedance), HRQoL using the Pediatric Quality of Life inventory 4.0 (PedsQL4.0), six-minute walk distance (6MWD) for the estimation of AC and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) using Borg scale. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess the different correlates. Differences were considered significant for p < 0.05. Results Percentage body fat was significantly higher in females compared to males while 6MWD was higher in males and in children with mild/moderate disease conditions compared to the others (all p < 0.05). Child and parent reports of HRQoL were negatively correlated with the RPE (r=-0.460 and r=-0.446 respectively, p < 0.010). 6MWD was associated with an increase in all HRQoL functional scores of patients with severe disease conditions; with the highest correlation observed in psychological functioning on parent report (r = 0.588; p = 0.011). After adjustment for confounders, 6MWD in patients with severe disease conditions was significantly associated with physical functioning score for parent report (β = 0.148 ± 0.063; p = 0.034) and total score for child report (β = 0.101 ± 0.047; p = 0.049). Conclusions AC and RPE are significantly correlated with HRQoL and should be targeted for managing CHD adolescents; particularly for those with severe disease conditions.