Pediatric neurofibromatosis 1 and parental stress: a multicenter study

• Published in: Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment 2014, Vol.10, p.141-146
• Main Authors: Esposito, Maria, Marotta, Rosa, Roccella, Michele, Gallai, Beatrice, Parisi, Lucia, Lavano, Serena Marianna, Carotenuto, Marco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Asthma; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Body mass index; Children; Children & youth; Chronic illnesses; Complications and side effects; Cystic fibrosis; Diabetes; Diseases; Families & family life; Gender; Genetic disorders; Health aspects; Learning disabilities; Mothers; Mutation; Neurofibromatosis; Neurological disorders; Parent and child; Parents & parenting; Perceptions; Psychological aspects; Risk factors; Short Report; Sleep disorders; Standard deviation; Stress; Stress (Psychology); Tumors
• ISSN: 1176-6328; 1176-6328; 1178-2021
• DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S55518

Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is a complex and multifaceted neurocutaneous syndrome with many and varied comorbidities. The literature about the prevalence and degree of maternal stress and the impact of NF1 in the parent-child interaction is still scant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of maternal stress in a large pediatric sample of individuals affected by NF1. Thirty-seven children (19 boys, 18 girls) of mean age 7.86±2.94 (range 5-11) years affected by typical NF1 and a control group comprising 405 typically developing children (207 boys, 198 girls; mean age 8.54±2.47 years) were included in this study. To assess parental stress, the mothers of all individuals (NF1 and comparisons) filled out the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form test. The two study groups were comparable for age (P=0.116), gender (P=0.886), and body mass index adjusted for age (P=0.305). Mothers of children affected by NF1 reported higher mean Parenting Stress Index-Short Form scores on the Parental Distress domain (P