Skip Navigation



Rheumatology Advance Access published online on March 29, 2005
Rheumatology, doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keh605
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplementary data
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
44/10/1267    most recent
keh605v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Leong, K. P.
Right arrow Articles by Howe, H. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Leong, K. P.
Right arrow Articles by Howe, H. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received July 28, 2004
Accepted February 15, 2005

Original Papers

Development and preliminary validation of a systemic lupus erythematosus-specific quality-of-life instrument (SLEQOL)

K. P. Leong 1*, K. O. Kong 1, B. Y. H. Thong 1, E. T. Koh 1, T. Y. Lian 1, C. L. Teh 1, Y. K. Cheng 1, H. H. Chng 1, H. Badsha 1, W. G. Law 1, T. C. Lau 1, L. C. Chew 1, H. J. Ho 1, L. Y. Pong 1, L. S. Hoi 1, N. Sangeetha 1, S. P. Chan 2, and H. S. Howe 1

1 Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
2 Health Promotion Board, Singapore

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
K. P. Leong, E-mail: khai_pang_leong{at}ttsh.com.sg


  Abstract

Objectives. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic illness with an unpredictable and variable course, profoundly affects the quality of life (QOL). General health questionnaires are used to assess QOL in SLE, but a disease-specific instrument could offer enhanced responsiveness and content validity. We detail the steps we took to develop and validate a new SLE-specific QOL instrument, SLEQOL.

Methods. Rheumatology professionals nominated items that they felt were important determinants of QOL of SLE patients. One hundred SLE patients were asked to assess the importance and frequency of occurrence of these items and to suggest those that had not been listed. Item reduction was performed using Rasch model and factor analyses to create a new questionnaire in English. This final questionnaire was administered to a cohort of 275 patients to study its psychometric properties.

Results. Fifty-one items covering a wide range of QOL concerns were identified. The patients' responses led to the elimination of 11. The new questionnaire of 40 items was found to have Cronbach's alpha of 0.95 and to consist of eight domains covering physical, mental and social QOL issues. It has good test-retest reliability, poor to fair cross-sectional correlation with the SF-36, with poor correlation with lupus activity or damage indices. The SLEQOL was more responsive to change than the SF-36.

Conclusions. We have developed a new 40-item SLEQOL in English and showed that it is valid for use in SLE patients in Singapore. It offers better content validity and responsiveness to change than the SF-36.

Keywords: quality of life; systemic lupus erythematosus; helplessness; activity index; Rasch model analysis; factor analysis.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 LupusHome page
L. Moorthy, M. Peterson, M. Harrison, K. Onel, and T. Lehman
Review: Quality of life in children with systemic lupus erythematosus: a review
Lupus, August 1, 2007; 16(8): 663 - 669.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 LupusHome page
K Mcelhone, J Abbott, and L -S Teh
A review of health related quality of life in systemic lupus erythematosus
Lupus, October 1, 2006; 15(10): 633 - 643.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.