Further evidence of the validity and reliability of the Skindex-29: an Italian study on 2,242 dermatological outpatients.
BACKGROUND
Quality of life is increasingly recognized as an important measure in dermatology. The Skindex-29 is a self-administered questionnaire recently developed to measure comprehensively the complex effects of skin diseases on patients' quality of life.


OBJECTIVE
We aimed to provide further evidence of the reliability and validity of the Skindex-29 in a large sample of patients affected by a wide variety of skin diseases.


METHODS
An Italian version of the Skindex-29 was produced following accepted guidelines for the cross-cultural adaptation of questionnaires. All adult outpatients attending a dermatological hospital on predetermined days were given the Skindex-29 and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).


RESULTS
A total of 2,242 complete questionnaires were analyzed. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of each scale were high. The factor structure of the Skindex-29 was strikingly similar to the one originally observed in American patients. The pattern of correlation with the GHQ-12 provided evidence of convergent validity of the Skindex-29.


CONCLUSIONS
The instrument seems to measure three fundamental dimensions of skin health-related quality of life.
Abeni
Damiano
D
Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Dermatological Institute IDI-IRCCS, Rome, Italy. d.abeni@idi.it
Picardi
Angelo
A
Pasquini
Paolo
P
Melchi
Carmelo Franco
CF
Chren
Mary Margaret
MM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology