title: Validation of a Chinese version of disease specific quality of life scale (HFS-36) for hemifacial spasm in Taiwan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There was no Chinese questionnaire to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with hemifacial spasm (HFS). In this study, we aimed to validate a new disease-specific HRQoL scale for HFS (HFS-36) in Chinese version, and compared it to SF-36, a generic HRQoL scale.
  
  
  METHODS
  The HFS-36 Chinese version was modified from English version of HFS-30, including subscales of mobility, activities of daily living (ADL), emotional well-being, stigma, social support, cognition, bodily discomfort, and communication. All the items were scored on the 5-point scales, ranging from 0(never) to 4(always). Patients with HFS were asked to answer HFS-36 and SF-36 questionnaires on the same day before and 6-8 weeks after Botulinum toxin (BTX) injections, respectively. The reliability and validity of HFS-36 scale were evaluated statistically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Totally, 103 patients (68 females; 35 males) were recruited in this study, with a mean age of 57.6 +/- 11.5 years and a mean duration of HFS for 7.6 +/- 5.8 years. The intra-class correlation (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha were over 0.7 in the majority of items. HFS-36 showed a good correlation to HFS severity before BTX treatment and a significant improvement of subscale scoring after BTX treatment. HFS-36 also had a significant correlation to the mental health of SF-36.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Chinese version of HFS-36 demonstrated a good reliability and validity in subscales of motility, ADL, emotion well-being, stigma and bodily discomfort. The HRQoL was significantly improved after BTX treatment assessed by HFS-36 or SF-36. Compared to SF-36, HFS-36 scale was more sensitive and specific to evaluate the HRQoL in HFS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan. deepblue@adm.cgmh.org.tw
authors.forename: Yen-Chu
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jun-Yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Long-Sun
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Ro
authors.forename: Rong-Kuo
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.forename: Hong-Shiu
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Sien-Tsong
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wen-Chuin
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Chiung-Mei
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yih-Ru
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001905:Botulinum Toxins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D019569:Hemifacial Spasm / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D014177:Translations
chemical_list: D001905:Botulinum Toxins