title: Validation of the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire with momentary assessments of symptoms and functional limitations in patient daily life.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The ecological momentary assessment method may collect more accurate data about a patient's symptoms and functioning during the patient's normal daily life than does a retrospective measurement method such as the standardized Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ-S), which relies on the patient's recollections of symptoms and functioning.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine how well the AQLQ-S predicts actual asthma symptoms and functional limitations in patients' daily lives.
  
  
  METHODS
  With 91 patients with asthma, we measured quality of life at baseline with the AQLQ-S. Each participant then carried a palm-top computer for 1 week, which signaled the patient 5 times a day to complete a momentary assessment of his or her asthma symptoms, mood, activities, and peak expiratory flow. Once a day, upon awakening, the participants were asked to enter data on their sleep and nocturnal asthma symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The AQLQ-S scores were strongly associated with the momentary assessments of asthma symptoms and patient functioning. The unstandardized slope value indicates, for each 1-unit increase in quality of life, the corresponding change in the outcome variable (in the original units of measurement). Specifically, each 1-unit increase in quality of life was associated with better ambulatory outcomes (assessed on a 7-point scale): fewer coughing and wheezing symptoms (unstandardized slope = -0.44, P < .001); less symptom interference with sleep (unstandardized slope = -0.48, P < .001); less negative affect (unstandardized slope = -0.65, P = .04); and fewer activity restrictions (unstandardized slope = -0.54, P < .001). An increase in quality of life did not significantly predict peak expiratory flow (unstandardized slope = 11.53 L/min, P = .10).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With ecological momentary assessment we found that the AQLQ-S is a valid tool for assessing asthma symptoms and functional limitations. The AQLQ-S scores correctly predicted asthma symptoms, mood, sleep-interference, and activity restrictions in asthma patients' daily lives over a 1-week interval. These data support the AQLQ-S in the clinical management of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health and Behavior, Syracuse University, 402 Huntington Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244-2340, USA.
authors.forename: Robin S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Everhart
authors.forename: Joshua M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.forename: Alecia M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Santuzzi
authors.forename: Barbara H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Fiese
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012890:Sleep; D012919:Social Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors