Development of a health-related quality of life questionnaire for women with androgenetic alopecia.
Despite the negative effects of androgenetic alopecia (AGA), no standardized health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire which is both specific to women and suitable for use in clinical trials currently exists. A questionnaire to assess HRQOL in women with AGA, the Women's Androgenetic Alopecia Quality of Life Questionnaire (WAA-QOL), was recently developed. Aspects of life affected by AGA were generated from literature review, discussion with experts, and a focus group. The number of issues identified was reduced based on importance and relevance to women with AGA. A questionnaire was then constructed and pilot-tested for comprehension. The resulting 25-item instrument was later included in a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of finasteride 1 mg for the treatment of hair thinning in postmenopausal women (n = 137). Based on test characteristics, several questions were eliminated, resulting in a 16-item questionnaire. The WAA-QOL exhibited excellent test-retest reliability overall (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.89), and for individual items (kappa = 0.66-0.85), as well as high internal consistency (Crohnbach's alpha = 0.98). Responsiveness of the questionnaire could not be assessed. The WAA-QOL is self-completed in about 10 min, exhibits good content validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability, and may be useful in assessing the impact of female AGA on HRQOL or in evaluating therapeutic effects in clinical trials.
Dolte
K S
KS
Department of Epidemiology, Merck Research Laboratories, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, USA. kristin_dolte@merck.com
Girman
C J
CJ
Hartmaier
S
S
Roberts
J
J
Bergfeld
W
W
Waldstreicher
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000505:Alopecia / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*