Health-related quality of life of the rural-China left-behind children or adolescents and influential factors: a cross-sectional study (Health and Quality of Life Outcomes)

Background: Due to sustained export of labor service, the left-behind children/ adolescents in rural areas of China have become a group that can no longer be neglected. However, even up to this day, little is known about the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the left-behind children/adolescents, particularly in Midwest China. This study aims at investigating their living condition and analyzing the influential factors of their HRQoL. Methods: A cross-sectional study based on households was conducted and 1363 children or adolescents from rural areas of 6 provinces in China, among whom 608 were left-behind and 755 were non-left-behind, were enrolled in a multistage sampling. HRQoL was revealed using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Differences in scores were analyzed using rank sum tests, and multivariate analyses were conducted with multiple linear regression. Results: There was a total of 608 (44.61%) left-behind children or adolescents, and they scored significantly lower in terms of the HRQoL synthesis scores (F = 6.14, P