[Validation of the Chinese version of the uterine fibroid symptom and health-related quality of life]

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the uterine fibroid symptom and health-related quality of life (UFS-QOL) in patients with uterine fibroid. Methods: The original English UFS-QOL was translated into Chinese and linguistically validated following the cross-cultural adaptation of health-related quality of life measures. Patients recruited randomly from Peking Union Medical College Hospital from June 2013 to December 2016 were scheduled for two visits with 2 weeks apart, and they were surveyed through the Chinese version of UFS-QOL and short-form 12-item health survey (SF-12). The reliability and validity of the Chinese version of UFS-QOL were evaluated. Results: A total of 190 uterine fibroid patients who met the criteria participated this study. The Chinese version of UFS-QOL had a high internal consistency (Cronbach's α, uterine fibroid symptom severity scale:0.912, health-related quality of life scale: 0.976) and high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.572-0.951, P<0.01). The symptom severity scores and SF-12 scores were negatively correlated (r=-0.813, P<0.01); the health-related quality of life scores and SF-12 scores were positively correlated (r=0.620, P<0.01). The factor analysis showed good construct validity. Conclusion: Psychometric testing supports the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of UFS-QOL as an disease-specific measure of health-related quality of life.

Keywords: Leiomyoma; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of results; Sickness impact profile; Uterine neoplasms.