re POTS - Parents who think illness is physical, attribute more disability to patients

[Denise]

I just don't know what to say...... blame the parents --- again....

Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2016 Dec 8. pii: 0009922816681137. [Epub ahead of print]


Parental Perceptions of Pediatric Pain and POTS-Related Disability.
Keating EM1,2, Antiel RM3, Weiss KE3, Wallace D4, Antiel SJ3, Fischer PR3, Junghans-Rutelonis AN3, Harbeck-Weber C3.

Author information

• 1Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA ekeating@alumni.nd.edu.
  
  
• 2Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
  
  
• 3Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
  
  
• 4Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO, USA.
  

Abstract
Adolescents with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) often have pain and functional impairment. This study evaluated how parental attributions of children's symptoms relate to child functional impairment. Adolescents with chronic pain and clinical symptoms suggestive of autonomic dysfunction (fatigue, dizziness, nausea) that attended a multidisciplinary chronic pain clinic completed measures of depression, anxiety, and functioning (n = 141). Parents of 114 of these patients completed the Parent Pain Attribution Questionnaire (PPAQ), a measure indicating the extent they believe physical and psychosocial factors account for their child's health condition. Patients were retrospectively grouped as to whether or not they had significant POTS on tilt table testing (n = 37). Greater parental attribution to physical causes was associated with increased levels of functional disability whether patients had POTS (r = 0.45, P = .006) or not (r = 0.25, P = .03). These results suggest that providers should advocate a more comprehensive family-oriented rehabilitative approach to treatment.

© The Author(s) 2016.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27941082

 

[Simon]

Greater parental attribution to physical causes was associated with increased levels of functional disability whether patients had POTS (r = 0.45, P = .006) or not (r = 0.25, P = .03). These results suggest that providers should advocate a more comprehensive family-oriented rehabilitative approach to treatment.

These conclusions suggest that researchers should grasp the difference between association and causation, and not assume the latter from a cross-sectional study.

 

[Denise]

These conclusions suggest that researchers should grasp the difference between association and causation, and not assume the latter from a cross-sectional study.

So true!

 

[dyfalbarhau]

So... parents of children with more severe symptoms are more likely to attribute those symptoms to physical causes over psychological causes, is another way of saying what they found.

 

[A.B.]

It seems that grasping the difference between correlation and causation is as difficult for some as drinking water is for this guy:

 

[Snow Leopard]

Parents are more likely to believe that more serious symptoms are likely to be due to (primarily) biological causes.

Why do the authors of this study dispute that this is a reasonable assumption?

 

[rosamary]

Parents are more likely to believe that more serious symptoms are likely to be due to (primarily) biological causes.

Why do the authors of this study dispute that this is a reasonable assumption?

Because they are cognitively impaired and need to make a living. Well...that's all I can think of to explain their lack of perspicacity.

 

[taniaaust1]

So... parents of children with more severe symptoms are more likely to attribute those symptoms to physical causes over psychological causes, is another way of saying what they found.

its amazing though have they manage to twist this.. to "blame the parents". Its like we are back in the days where those who had Autistic children were told they were themselves at fault.

This study is just proof of how these psych field people can do a study and twist anything. I wish so much research funding wasnt being wasted.
...............

This whole study is rather quite offensive, I cant imagine them doing a study like this on other severe illnesses

 

[taniaaust1]

It seems that grasping the difference between correlation and causation is as difficult for some as drinking water is for this guy:

great cartoon. It reminds me of a very bad ME brain day when one cant make any good sense of simple tasks. (I once forgot how to use a toaster so had to miss out on toast that morning).

 

[Woolie]

This is the latest epistle in a long series of failures to grasp the distinction between correlation and causation distinction in our field. What better time to celebrate with a face palm gallery?

 

[trishrhymes]

So parents with sicker children are more likely to believe their children are sick. Huh! Am I missing something here? Of course they are. How can they conclude that the parents are somehow responsible for the kids being sicker.

Yes I know it says this was not correlated with tilt table test results, but maybe, just maybe those sicker kids had other things wrong with them too. Like ME maybe?