Brief Articles
Copyright ©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 14, 2009; 15(26): 3288-3297
Published online Jul 14, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.3288
Psychometrics of the chronic liver disease questionnaire for Southern Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection
Elegance Ting Pui Lam, Cindy Lo Kuen Lam, Ching Lung Lai, Man Fung Yuen, Daniel Yee Tak Fong
Elegance Ting Pui Lam, Cindy Lo Kuen Lam, Ching Lung Lai, Man Fung Yuen, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Daniel Yee Tak Fong, Department of Nursing Studies, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Author contributions: All authors participated in the design of the study; Lam ETP, Lai CL and Yuen MF collected the data; Lam ETP, Lam CLK and Fong DYT were involved in data analysis and interpretation; Lam ETP and Lam CLK drafted the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to: Elegance Ting Pui Lam, Family Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, 161 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong, China. etplam@gmail.com
Telephone: +852-25185656
Fax: +852-28147475
Received: February 3, 2009
Revised: May 25, 2009
Accepted: June 1, 2009
Published online: July 14, 2009
Abstract

AIM: To test the psychometric properties of a Chinese [(Hong Kong) HK] translation of the chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ).

METHODS: A Chinese (HK) translation of the CLDQ was developed by iterative translation and cognitive debriefing. It was then administered to 72 uncomplicated and 78 complicated chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Hong Kong together with a structured questionnaire on service utilization, and the Chinese (HK) SF-36 Health Survey Version 2 (SF-36v2).

RESULTS: Scaling success was ≥ 80% for all but three items. A new factor assessing sleep was found and items of two (Fatigue and Systemic Symptoms) subscales tended to load on the same factor. Internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities ranged from 0.58-0.90 for different subscales. Construct validity was confirmed by the expected correlations between the SF-36v2 Health Survey and CLDQ scores. Mean scores of CLDQ were significantly lower in complicated compared with uncomplicated CHB, supporting sensitivity in detecting differences between groups.

CONCLUSION: The Chinese (HK) CLDQ is valid, reliable and sensitive for patients with CHB. Some modifications to the scaling structure might further improve its psychometric properties.

Keywords: Chronic liver disease; Health-related quality of life; Hepatitis B; Southern Chinese; Validity