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. 2022 Jan 15;11(2):441.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11020441.

Psychometric Validation of the German Translation of the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis (QOL-B)-Data from the German Bronchiectasis Registry PROGNOSIS

Laura Quellhorst  1 , Grit Barten-Neiner  2   3 , Andrés de Roux  4 , Roland Diel  5   6   7 , Pontus Mertsch  8 , Isabell Pink  1 , Jessica Rademacher  1   3 , Sivagurunathan Sutharsan  9 , Tobias Welte  1   3 , Annegret Zurawski  1   3 , Felix C Ringshausen  1   3 , On Behalf Of The Prognosis Study Group
Affiliations

Psychometric Validation of the German Translation of the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis (QOL-B)-Data from the German Bronchiectasis Registry PROGNOSIS

Laura Quellhorst et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Patients with bronchiectasis feature considerable symptom burden and reduced health-related quality of life (QOL). We provide the psychometric validation of the German translation of the disease-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis (QOL-B), version 3.1, using baseline data of adults consecutively enrolled into the prospective German bronchiectasis registry PROGNOSIS. Overall, 904 patients with evaluable QOL-B scores were included. We observed no relevant floor or ceiling effects. Internal consistency was good to excellent (Cronbach's α ≥0.73 for each scale). QOL-B scales discriminated between patients based on prior pulmonary exacerbations and hospitalizations, breathlessness, bronchiectasis severity index, lung function, sputum volume, Pseudomonas aeruginosa status and the need for regular pharmacotherapy, except for Social Functioning, Vitality and Emotional Functioning scales. We observed moderate to strong convergence between several measures of disease severity and QOL-B scales, except for Social and Emotional Functioning. Two-week test-retest reliability was good, with intraclass correlation coefficients ≥0.84 for each scale. Minimal clinical important difference ranged between 8.5 for the Respiratory Symptoms and 14.1 points for the Social Functioning scale. Overall, the German translation of the QOL-B, version 3.1, has good validity and test-retest reliability among a nationally representative adult bronchiectasis cohort. However, responsiveness of QOL-B scales require further investigation during registry follow-up.

Keywords: Germany; bronchiectasis; patient-reported outcome measures; quality of life; questionnaire design; registries.

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Conflict of interest statement

L.Q., G.B.N., A.D.R. and A.Z. declare no conflicts of interest. R.D. and/or his institution received grants, advisory/lecture/clinical trial fees and non-financial support by Bayer, Cepheid, DiaSorin, Insmed, Oxford Immunotec, Qiagen, Quidel, BMBF, DZL and DZIF. P.M. and/or his institution received grants, advisory/lecture/clinical trial fees and non-financial support by AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Insmed Inc., Vertex and DZL. I.P. and/or her institution received grants, advisory/lecture/clinical trial fees and non-financial support from Chiesi and Förderstiftung MHH Plus. J.R. and/or her institution received grants, advisory/lecture/clinical trial fees and non-financial support from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Brahms, Chiesi, Esanum, Grifols, GSK, Novartis, DZL, DZIF and BMBF. S.S. received personal fees or grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Celtaxsys, Chiesi, Corbus Pharmaceuticals Flatley, Galapagos, Insmed Inc., Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Proteostasis Therapeutics, Teva and Vertex outside the submitted work. S.S. has served as an investigator in clinical trials for AstraZeneca, Zambon, Insmed Inc., Novartis and Vertex. T.W. received grants to his institution from Insmed Inc. and Novartis and personal fees for advisory boards and lectures by AstraZeneca, Insmed Inc., Novartis and Zambon. F.C.R. and/or his institution received grants, advisory/lecture/clinical trial fees and non-financial support by AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celtaxsys, Chiesi, Corbus, Grifols, InfectoPharm, Insmed Inc., Novartis, PARI, Parion, Polyphor, Shionogi, Vertex, Zambon, DZL, DZIF, BMBF and IMI/EFPIA.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis scores stratified by the MRC dyspnea scale. Abbreviation: MRC, Medical Research Council. * p < 0.001. Differences between groups were assessed by the Kruskal–Wallis test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis scores stratified by BSI categories. Abbreviation: BSI, Bronchiectasis Severity Index; * p < 0.001; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.05. Differences between groups were assessed by the Kruskal–Wallis test.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis scores stratified by ppFEV1 (categorized). Abbreviations: ppFEV1, forced expiratory volume in one second (% predicted); NS, not significant. * p < 0.001; ** p < 0.01. Differences between groups were assessed by the Kruskal–Wallis test.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean Quality of Life-Bronchiectasis scores stratified by average daily sputum volume (categorized). Abbreviation: NS, not significant. * p ≤ 0.001; Differences between groups were assessed by the Kruskal–Wallis test.
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