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Multicenter Study
. 2007 Feb 2:5:7.
doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-5-7.

Translation and validation of non-English versions of the Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQOL) questionnaire

Lynda C Doward  1 , Stephen P McKenna, David M Meads, James Twiss, Dennis Revicki, Robert L Wong, Michelle P Luo
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Translation and validation of non-English versions of the Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQOL) questionnaire

Lynda C Doward et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: The Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQOL) questionnaire is a unidimensional, disease-specific measure developed in the UK and the Netherlands. This study describes its adaptation into other languages.

Methods: The UK English ASQOL was translated into US English; Canadian French and English; French; German; Italian; Spanish; and Swedish (dual-panel methods). Cognitive debriefing interviews were conducted with AS patients. Psychometric/scaling properties were assessed using data from two Phase III studies of adalimumab. Baseline and Week-2 data were used to assess test-retest reliability. Validity was determined by correlation of ASQOL with SF-36 and BASFI and by discriminative ability of ASQOL based on disease severity. Item response theory (Rasch model) was used to test ASQOL's scaling properties.

Results: Cognitive debriefing showed the new ASQOL versions to be clear, relevant and comprehensive. Sample sizes varied, but were sufficient for: psychometric/scaling assessment for US English and Canadian English; psychometric but not scaling analyses for German; and preliminary evidence of these properties for the remaining languages. Test-retest reliability and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were high: US English (0.85, 0.85), Canadian English (0.87, 0.86), and German (0.77, 0.79). Correlations of ASQOL with SF-36 and BASFI for US English, Canadian English, and German measures were moderate, but ASQOL discriminated between patients based on perceived disease severities (p < 0.01). Results were comparable for the other languages. US English and Canadian English exhibited fit to the Rasch model (non-significant p-values: 0.54, 0.68), confirming unidimensionality.

Conclusion: The ASQOL was successfully translated into all eight languages. Psychometric properties were excellent for US English, Canadian English, and German, and extremely promising for the other languages.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A. Discriminative validity of the ASQOL based on BASDAI scores. B. Discriminative validity based on self-rated health.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean ASQOL scores at baseline (time 1) and 12 weeks (time 2).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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