[Health-related quality of life in Latin American adolescents]

The objective of the present study was to find out if there are differences in terms of sex, age, or country of origin for the components of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in samples of adolescents from three cities-in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, respectively-using data collected through an internationally recognized and validated survey questionnaire, KIDSCREEN-52.The KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire was administered to 1 357 adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age (48.6% of them male) in selected samples in the three countries. Univariate analysis of variation (ANCOVA) was used. Not only sex and age differences, but also differences for each component of HRQL, were found between the three country groups.The data showed significant differences between the three countries for each of the specific components of HRQL. Males scored significantly higher than females in the following components: Physical Well-being (P0.001), Psychological Well-being (P = 0.019), Moods and Emotions (P0.001), Self-perception (P = 0.001), Autonomy (P0.001), and Parent Relations and Home Life (P = 0.008). Furthermore, the average scores for Physical Well-being (P = 0.001), Psychological Well-being (P = 0.001), Self-Perception (P = 0.038), Autonomy (P = 0.001), Parent Relations and Home Life (P = 0.001), School Environment (P = 0.001), and Financial Resources (P = 0.022) showed a significantly declining trend with each advancing year, while average scores for the component Social Acceptance (Bullying) increased significantly with age (P0.001).The evidence suggests that interventions in disease prevention and health promotion should be developed for specific target groups, using appropriate actions depending on the sex and age of the adolescents.