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Social Disruption And Physical Limitation Related To Quality Of Life Of Adolescents With Asthma, Jennifer L. Baumgardner

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During adolescence, teenagers experience many physical, emotional, and social changes. Teenagers with chronic conditions, however, may face challenges in normal adolescent development because their illness can impact body image, independence, and peer socialization. Little is known about the effect of asthma on adolescent quality of life (QOL). In this paper, I review the existing literature on social disruption and physical limitations related to asthma and the subsequent impact on adolescent asthma QOL. In addition, adolescent issues leading to poor control of asthma symptoms and interventions to improve asthma QOL for adolescents are addressed.