title: Measuring health-related quality of life in diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review.
abstract: We undertook a systematic review of disease-specific measures of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) to appraise the scientific (psychometric) evidence and make recommendations about the best instrument(s) to use. DPN is a common complication of diabetes mellitus. A need to consider the broad impact of DPN, rather than just pain and the increasingly recognised need to assess patient-reported outcomes such as HRQL in evaluating healthcare has led to a demand for rigorous outcome measures. To identify appropriate disease-specific measures, we searched four databases: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL Plus. Data were extracted from each article using a standard data extraction form and the psychometric properties of each HRQL measure were reviewed. We identified three DPN-specific measures of HRQL: PN-QOL-97, Norfolk QOL-DN, NeuroQoL. All three measures satisfy at least one criterion for both reliability and validity, though all also have some disadvantages. Where there is no requirement for multi-language versions, the PN-QOL-97 is a useful instrument. Studies that involve multiple languages would need to use the shorter QOL-DN but would also need to incorporate complementary instruments to address the psychological and emotional impact of DPN.
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Lamping
authors.forename: G D H
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Maclaine
mesh_terms: D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology