European psychometric validation of the CONTILIFE: a Quality of Life questionnaire for urinary incontinence.
OBJECTIVE
To validate 5 language versions (French, Dutch, German, English and Danish) of CONTILIFE, a urinary incontinence-specific measure of Quality of Life (QoL).


METHODS
CONTILIFE was administered to Belgian, Danish, English, French, German, and Dutch women with genuine stress incontinence. The internal consistency, the construct and clinical validity, and the responsiveness to change over time were assessed using standardised procedures.


RESULTS
505 women filled in the CONTILIFE at baseline. Quality of completion was good. The mean number of missing data varied between 0.33 (1.17%) and 0.94 (3.36%) according to the country. Internal consistency was good for all dimensions except for the Effort Activities dimension. Construct validity was good for the Danish, French and pooled sample, and acceptable for English, German and Dutch samples. The distribution of QoL scores differed according to the number of urinary leaks (p<0.007). 477 women completed the questionnaire twice with a 28-day interval. Responsiveness to clinical improvement was good (/ES/> or =0.50) except for the Sexuality and Well-Being dimensions.


CONCLUSIONS
In this international European study, CONTILIFE matched the psychometric requirements to be used as a valid, reliable, and sensitive measure of the QoL of the patients. The Daily Activities, Effort Activities, Self-Image and Emotional Consequences dimensions are the most relevant and valid dimensions for purposes of comparison.
Amarenco
Gérard
G
Hôpital Rotschild, Service de Rééducation Neurologique et d'Explorations Périnéales, 33, boulevard de Picpus, 75571 Paris, Cedex 12, France.
Arnould
Benoit
B
Carita
Paulo
P
Haab
François
F
Labat
Jean Jacques
JJ
Richard
François
F
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007391:International Cooperation; D007802:Language; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology