title: A comparison of the discriminatory power of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire and the SF-36 in people with ulcerative colitis.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the discriminatory power of a generic and a condition-specific quality of life measure (the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ)) with respect to sub-groups defined by disease-related and other factors, in a sample of patients with ulcerative colitis. Disease activity was generally more highly correlated with IBDQ scores than with SF-36 scores. The only significant differences with respect to disease extent were in the SF-36 energy/vitality and social function domains. Age was negatively and weakly to moderately correlated with the physical domains of the SF-36 but positively though weakly correlated with scores on the IBDQ emotional domain and those domains of the SF-36 related to mental well-being. Co-existing chronic illness, even on controlling for age, was associated with significantly poorer scores on the generic measure, but had little influence on IBDQ scores. In conclusion, generic and disease-specific measures of quality of life appear to be complementary rather than interchangeable. We recommend the use of both types of measure in parallel.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Services Research, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. e.mccoll@newcastle.ac.uk
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McColl
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Welfare
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom