The Effects of Joint Hypermobility on Quality of Life in Healthy School Children

The incidence of joint hypermobility and benign joint hypermobility syndrome may differ greatly in different publications.This may be caused by the differences between the tests and the criteria used in the diagnosis of joint hypermobility.The lack of consensus on the cut-off value of the Beighton score, which is one of the most commonly used diagnostic AbstractObjective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of joint hypermobility in healthy primary school children and to investigate the quality of life differences between children with and without joint hypermobility.Methods: Joint hypermobility was investigated in healthy children aged 8-12 years.The "Beighton" score was evaluated for the diagnosis of joint hypermobility.According to these scores, children were divided into three groups as "joint hypermobility," "increased joint mobility" and "no joint hypermobility."All children were evaluated by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) version 4 and quality of life scores were measured.The PedsQL results were compared between the groups in terms of statistical significance. Results:The mean Beighton score of 378 students enrolled in the study was 2.4±2.2.The PedsQL mean total score was 77±13.3.Age, sex distribution, pediatric PedsQL total score, psychosocial score and physical health score did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusion:Our results show that joint hypermobility does not affect the quality of life in healthy children but more extensive studies in this field are needed.