title: Effects of Graves' ophthalmopathy on quality of life.
abstract: General health-related quality of life is markedly impaired in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), and even worse than in patients with other chronic conditions like diabetes, emphysema or heart failure. A disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaire for GO has been developed, the so-called GO-QOL, consisting of two subscales: one for visual functioning (8 questions referring to limitations due to decreased visual acuity and/or diplopia) and one for appearance (8 questions referring to limitations in psychosocial functioning due to changes in appearance). The GO-QOL was found to be a valid and reliable instrument. A minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in the GO-QOL score was derived from data obtained before and after specific eye treatments. Based on the patient's opinions, changes of > or = 6 points (minor surgery) or > or = 10 points (surgical decompression, immunosuppression) are recommended as MCID. It is concluded that the GO-QOL is an useful instrument for measuring changes over time in visual functioning and appearance of GO patients. The GO-QOL is available in six languages, and can be used as a separate outcome measure in clinical studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. w.m.wiersinga@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Wiersinga
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Prummel
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Terwee
mesh_terms: D006111:Graves Disease / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome