Reliability of the SF-36 in Japanese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and its associations with disease activity and damage: a two-consecutive year prospective study

Abstract

We aimed to validate the reliability of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) among Japanese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Japanese patients with SLE ( n = 233) completed the SF-36 and other related demographic questionnaires, and physicians simultaneously completed the SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) and the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index (SDI). Patients were prospectively followed for a repeat assessment the following year. The SF-36 subscales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α of 0.85-0.89), and an overall good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient >0.70). The average baseline SF-36 subscale/summary scores except for "bodily pain" were significantly lower than those of the Japanese general population ( p < 0.05). The SDI showed an inverse correlation with the SF-36 subscale/summary scores except for "vitality" and "mental component summary" at baseline, whereas the SLEDAI-2K did not. In the second year, "social functioning" and "mental component summary" of the SF-36 deteriorated among patients whose SDI or SLEDAI-2K score increased (effect sizes < -0.20). In conclusion, the SF-36 demonstrated acceptable reliability among Japanese patients with SLE. Health-related quality of life measured by the SF-36 was reduced in Japanese patients with SLE and associated with disease damage, rather than disease activity.

Comparison of performance of specific (SLEQOL) and generic (SF36) health-related quality of life questionnaires and their associations with disease status of systemic lupus erythematosus: a longitudinal study

“…These include the SLE Quality of Life (SLEQOL) [7][8][9], Lupus Quality of Life (LupusQoL) [10][11][12], Lupus Patient-Reported Outcome (LupusPRO) [13][14][15][16][17], SLE Symptom Checklist (SSC) [18,19], and SLE Quality of Life Questionnaire (L-QoL) [20,21]. In addition to these disease-specific HRQoL measures, clinicians and researchers have used generic HRQoL instruments such as the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF36) [22,23] and the EuroQoL-5D (EQ-5D) [24,25]. While generic surveys have the advantage of allowing comparison with other disease states, disease-specific HRQoL surveys provide the opportunity to focus on SLE-specific issues, such as uncertainty of the course of the disease, side effects of treatment, and low self-esteem which are not captured by generic surveys [10].…”

The ability of different imputation methods for missing values in mental measurement questionnaires

“…While researchers generally pay less attention to this deficiency. Many studies fail to mention the existence of missing and the methods of handing it [2,3]. Others merely alluded to the default method or typically discard of samples with missing value to obtain a complete dataset [4].…”

Measuring Empowerment in Patients with Chronic Disease: Psychometric Qualities of the Portuguese Rheumatic Disease Empowerment Scale

“…According to previous research [22], we reasoned that self-efficacy and control over the disease should be positively related to perceived quality of life. So, to establish validity and test correlations between P-RES-8 scores and patients' self-perceived health status, the Portuguese validated version of the MOS SF-36 [24] questionnaire was used. This instrument measures the quality of life of the general population, and it is also applicable to patients with chronic diseases, since it evaluates the subjective perception concerning the impact of an underlying illness.…”

“…This instrument measures the quality of life of the general population, and it is also applicable to patients with chronic diseases, since it evaluates the subjective perception concerning the impact of an underlying illness. Evidence has shown the MOS SF-36 to be a psychometrically valid measure to assess the quality of life in patients with rheumatic diseases [24,25]. It includes 36 items covering the following 8 domains: physical functioning, physical performance, bodily pain, general health, social functioning, emotional well-being, mental health, and energy/fatigue.…”