Quality of Life in Hidradenitis Suppurativa: validation of the HSQoL-24

To date, there are no disease-specific instruments in Spanish to assess quality of life of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa. A multicentre study was previously carried out in Spain between 2016 and 2017 to develop the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Quality of Life-24 (HSQoL-24), a disease-specific questionnaire to assess quality of life in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa. The objectives of this study are to revalidate the HSQoL-24 in Spanish with a larger sample of patients, and to present the English version. In this multi centre study in Spain, patients with hidradenitis suppurativa completed the HSQoL-24, the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the Skindex-29. The Hurley staging system was used to assess the severity of the disease. Validation of the questionnaire was carried out in 130 patients, of whom 75 (57.7%) were women. This study demonstrates adequate values of reliability and validity of the HSQoL-24, confirming the previous test re-test validation and making this questionnaire one of wide clinical validity in terms of results perceived by patients.

Family Reported Outcome Measure - 16 (FROM-16): Creation, Reliability and Reproducibility of the Polish Language Version

Chronic diseases not only have a direct influence on patients’ quality of life, but can also affect the life of family members. The aim of this study was to create the Polish language version of a questionnaire estimating impact of disease on quality of family life: the Family Reported Outcome Measure – 16 (FROM-16). A standard forward and backward translation procedure was used to convert the original English version of FROM-16 into the Polish language. Creation of the Polish version was performed in a group of 30 patients’ family members. The Polish language version of FROM-16 showed very good internal consistency reliability, the Cronbach α coefficient was 0.89. Reproducibility level was established with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.98. The Polish language version of FROM-16 can potentially be used as a tool to assess quality of life of patients’ family members.

Toward a Romanian version of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21 for children and adolescents (CTFEQ-R21): Preliminary psychometric analysis and relation with body composition

OBJECTIVE

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a Romanian version of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21 for children and adolescents CTFEQ-R21, and to assess its psychometric properties and factor structure. Associations between the present version of the CTFEQ-R21 and anthropometric measures as well as body composition were also examined.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Material and methods: 153 children and adolescents (68 boys and 95 girls; 10.8±3.5 years) took part in this study (BMI of 17.7±3.1 kg/m²). The participants were first interviewed to ascertain their understanding of the CTFEQ-R21 and were then asked to self-complete the questionnaire. Height and weight were measured and body composition assessed using bio impedance analyzers (Tanita MC 780).

RESULTS

Results: The CTFEQ-R21 showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.78). Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.55 for CR (cognitive restriction), 0.75 for UE (Uncontrolled Eating), and 0.76 for EE (Emotional Eating) separately. UE and EE were found to be significantly correlated (r=0.54, p<0.05). The three factors explained 43% of the total variance. Correlation between CR, UE and EE with body weight, BMI and FFM were significant but low to moderate, with coefficients ranging from 0.20 to 0.37. The higher the CR, UE and EE tertiles, the higher the weight, fat mass (kg) and fat-free mass values.

CONCLUSION

Conclusions: According to the psychometric analysis of the questionnaire, the version of the CTFEQ-R21 proposed here is a satisfactory tool to assess eating behaviors in the Romanian child population that remains to be further developed.

Validation of the positive and negative affect scale in the Chilean population and its application on migrant people

Introduction

Although the positive and negative affect scale proposed by Mroczek and Kolarz has not been as widely used as other instruments, the adequate psychometric properties reported and the simplicity of the application, make it an adequate instrument to measure the hedonic component of subjective well-being. Thus, the scale validation in Chile will allow researchers to have a short and reliable instrument available in order to measure subjective well-being.

Objective

The initial objective of this study was to in Chile the "Positive and negative affect scale" proposed by Mroczek and Kolarz.

Methods

A non-probabilistic sample of 155 Chileans and a sample of 308 adult immigrants residing in Chile from Colombia, Peru and Venezuela were recruited. The sample of Chileans was used to validate the scale. The construct validity (Cronbach's Alpha and exploratory factor analysis) and the concurrent validity through bivariate correlations with other measures were estimated. Finally, the differences in affect expression by Chileans in comparison with migrants’ people were evaluated.

Results

The reliability index was Alpha = 0.92 for the positive affect sub-scale and Alpha = 0.75 for the negative affect sub-scale. The exploratory factor analysis reproduced in the same way the factorial loadings proposed in the original instrument with saturations greater than 0.35 per item. Colombian and Venezuelan migrants show greater expression of positive affect than Chileans, while this difference is not observed when comparing Chileans with Peruvians.

Conclusion

The positive and negative affect scale has adequate psychometric properties to measure the expression of affect (hedonic well-being) in the Chilean population.

Measuring Patient Needs and Benefits in Dermatology using the Patient Benefit Index 2.0: A Validation Study

This study investigated the validity and feasibility of the Patient Benefit Index 2.0 (PBI 2.0), a short instrument to assess patient-relevant treatment benefit. In a cross-sectional study, patients with skin diseases completed the PBI 2.0 alongside instruments on quality of life and disease-specific PBI long versions to assess convergent validity. Feasibility questions appraise comprehensibility, completeness, length, and readability. Data from a longitudinal study were used to explore responsiveness and test-retest reliability. Most patients rated the PBI 2.0 easy to understand, complete, legible, and not too long. The amount of missing values was overall low. In all groups, except for vitiligo, correlation analyses indicated good convergent validity of PBI 2.0. Responsiveness of the PBI 2.0 could not be clearly confirmed. Retest-reliability achieved satisfactory results. Thus, the PBI 2.0 may be a suitable instrument for its use in different skin diseases. Its broad applicability allows for comparisons across diagnosis groups.