title: Validation of the English version of the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire in a multi-ethnic Asian population.
abstract: The purpose of study was to assess the validity, reliability and acceptability of the English version of the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire in a multi-ethnic Asian population. The English version of the Standardized Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ-S) and the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) were self-completed by 119 English-speaking Chinese, Malay and Indian asthmatic subjects, aged 17-78. Spirometric measurements, peak expiratory flow rate, current clinical symptoms and treatment requirements were documented. Reliability and responsiveness were analyzed in a subgroup of 57 patients who were reassessed 6 weeks later. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient for internal consistency of the AQLQ-S was 0.97 (0.96-0.98) for the overall score. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) overall score was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.94-0.99) while the responsiveness index was 1.29 with strong longitudinal validity for clinical and spirometric measures of asthma severity and asthma control score (p < 0.001). The results of this study showed that the English version of the AQLQ-S is a sensitive and valid instrument for measuring health-related quality of life in asthmatic subjects from a multi-ethnic Asian population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore. mdctanwc@nus.edu.sg
authors.forename: Wan C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Justina W L
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Eric W L
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Wee
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niti
authors.forename: Tze P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011639:Public Opinion; D011788:Quality of Life; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D012846:Singapore; D013147:Spirometry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires