Introduction

Chronic illness affects a child’s quality of life (QoL) – most studies focus on this issue. The aim of our research was to examine the QoL of healthy children who have a sibling with a chronic condition.

Material and methods

The study included 70 participants aged 12–17 years in the study group. The study had a cross-sectional design and was conducted using a demographic survey and the KIDSCREEN-27 questionnaire. The results were compared with an appropriately matched group of healthy children (78) who have healthy siblings. Additionally, the medical records of the ill child were analyzed to assess selected clinical data and estimate the severity of the condition using a custom-designed scale.

Results

The study found that in comparison to the control group, children with a chronically ill sibling showed a lower QoL score in the aspects of independence and parental relationship, as well as community support and peer relationships. The results indicate that healthy children perceived their sibling’s illness as significantly more severe compared to the clinical assessment made by a physician. Strong positive correlations were found between the physician’s estimated illness severity, the perceived impact of the illness on the healthy sibling, and the participant’s perception of illness severity. Additionally, a significantly higher QoL score was observed in certain variables among participants who took part in the sibling support program run by the Gajusz Foundation.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that a sibling’s chronic illness significantly affects the QoL of their brothers and sisters. The findings suggest that providing accurate and age-appropriate information can be helpful in preventing anxiety and the development of misconceptions about the sibling’s illness, treatment process, and prognosis. Support programs addressed to healthy siblings of chronically ill children may help mitigate the negative effects of the disease on QoL.