Comparison of quality of life measures in a depressed population.
Measures of quality of life have been increasingly used in clinical trials. When designing a study, researchers must decide which quality of life measure to use. Some literature provides guidance through general recommendations, though lacks quantitative comparisons. In this report, 2 general quality of life measures, the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), are compared in a depressed population. STAR*D data were used to analyze the associations among the SF-12 and the Q-LES-Q. Each measure covers 6 domains, overlapping on 5 (health, self-esteem/well-being, community/productivity, social/love relationships, leisure/creativity), with the SF-12 addressing family and the Q-LES-Q addressing living situations. Strong item-by-item associations exist only between the Q-LES-Q and the SF-12 physical health items. The 2 measures overlap on the domains covered while the lack of correlation between the 2 measures may be attributed to the perspective of each question as the Q-LES-Q measures satisfaction while the SF-12 measures the patient's perception of function.
Wisniewski
Stephen R
SR
Epidemiology Data Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA. wisniew@edc.pitt.edu
Rush
A John
AJ
Bryan
Charlene
C
Shelton
Richard
R
Trivedi
Madhukar H
MH
Marcus
Sheila
S
Husain
Mustafa M
MM
Hollon
Steven D
SD
Fava
Maurizio
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires