title: A study of the construct validity of the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) in patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: This study assessed the construct validity of the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) in patients with schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia recruited from a tertiary mental hospital in Singapore completed the HUI3, the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS). Patients were assessed for presence and absence of 22 common psychiatric symptoms. Construct validity was assessed using 6 a priori hypotheses. Two hundred and two patients (mean age: 37.8 years, female: 52%) completed the survey. As hypothesized, overall HUI3 utility scores were correlated with SF-36 measures (Spearman's rho: 0.19 to 0.51), SQLS scales (Spearman's rho: -0.56 to -0.36), and the number of psychiatric symptoms (Spearman's rho: -0.49). The HUI3 emotion attribute was moderately correlated with SF-36 mental health (Spearman's rho: 0.45) and SQLS psychosocial scales (Spearman's rho: -0.43), and HUI3 pain attribute was strongly correlated with SF-36 bodily pain scale (Spearman's rho: 0.58). The mean HUI3 overall, emotion, cognition, and speech scores for patients with schizophrenia were 0.07, 0.09, 0.04 and 0.04 points lower than respective age-, sex- and ethnicity-adjusted population norms (p<0.001 for all, ANCOVA). This study provides evidence for the construct validity of the HUI3 in patients with schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Health Services Research Unit, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Boon-Kheng
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Seng
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thumboo
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feeny
authors.forename: Shu-Chuen
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012846:Singapore; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires