title: Validation of a disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaire in a large sample of Dutch achalasia patients.
abstract: The aim of this study was to validate a translated version of an achalasia-specific quality-of-life questionnaire (achalasia-DSQoL) by examining its psychometric properties in a Dutch cohort of achalasia patients. The achalasia-DSQoL was administered to 171 treated achalasia patients together with a clinical symptom score and the RAND-36. Validation methods included factor analysis, known-group techniques, Cronbach's alpha and Spearman rank correlation with other questionnaires and feasibility. About 72.5% of the achalasia patients completed the questionnaires. The achalasia-DSQoL showed evidence of an underlying construct and seems reliable with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.77. The question concerning heartburn did not correlate with the other items on the questionnaire. Known-group techniques demonstrated that the achalasia-DSQoL discriminates between achalasia patients in clinical remission and patients who are not. There was a moderate correlation between the achalasia-DSQoL and the RAND-36 subscales. The questionnaire was easy in use. The translated version of the achalasia-DSQoL is a valid and reliable instrument to compare groups of achalasia patients although the question concerning heartburn should be excluded.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. r.frankhuisen@umcutrecht.nl
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frankhuisen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heijkoop
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van Herwaarden
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: A J P M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Smout
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samsom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004931:Esophageal Achalasia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D011336:Probability; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012042:Registries; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating