title: Comparison of a generic and a rhinitis-specific quality-of-life (QOL) instrument in patients with house dust mite allergy: relationship between the SF-36 and Rhinitis QOL Questionnaire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Generic and disease-specific quality-of-life (QOL) questionnaires are commonly used in subjects with allergic rhinitis (AR). AR, however, is closely associated with other disorders such as bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis (AD). These co-morbid associations may have an effect on the inter-relation of generic and disease-specific QOL outcomes and the behaviour of this inter-relation in time.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To unravel the inter-relationships between the outcome of a generic instrument (SF-36) and a disease-specific instrument (Rhinitis QOL Questionnaire (RQLQ)).
  
  
  METHODS
  In the framework of a randomized clinical trial with respect to the efficacy of impermeable bedding covers in house dust mite (HDM) allergy, SF-36 and RQLQ were administered to 224 adults with AR and/or allergic asthma and/or AD at baseline and after 12 months of intervention. Regression analysis and canonical correlation were used to estimate overlap.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overlap between SF-36 and RQLQ domains in terms of explained variance ranged from 6% to 56%. Canonical correlation yielded low coefficients (0.16-0.27). Moreover, both SF-36 and RQLQ scores did not change significantly during the intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with HDM allergy characterized by co-morbid associations, SF-36 and RQLQ cover different aspects in QOL. It is advocated to use both simultaneously in performing QOL studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. i.terreehorst@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Terreehorst
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Duivenvoorden
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tempels-Pavlica
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Oosting
authors.forename: J G R
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: de Monchy
authors.forename: C A F M
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Bruijnzeel-Koomen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gerth van Wijk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D040002:Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus / Q000276:immunology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004391:Dust / Q000276:immunology; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004391:Dust