The association between mental health and quality of life in adolescents with anorectal malformations or Hirschsprung disease

This study investigates the relationship between mental health and quality of life (QoL) in adolescents with anorectal malformations (ARM) or Hirschsprung disease (HD), specifically examining how psychiatric diagnoses affect patient-reported QoL scores. The findings reveal that adolescents with a psychiatric diagnosis report significantly lower QoL scores across both generic and gastrointestinal symptom measures, highlighting the importance of integrating mental health assessments into the long-term care of these patients. The authors suggest that using both PedsQL-GCS and PedsQL-GSM can help identify those needing further mental health support.