title: Vitiligo impact scale: an instrument to assess the psychosocial burden of vitiligo.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vitiligo is a disease that significantly impairs quality of life. Previous studies have shown that vitiligo has an impact that may not correlate with the size and extent of depigmentation, indicating a need for an independent measure of the psychosocial burden.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To develop a rating scale to assess the psychosocial impact of vitiligo.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was undertaken in three broad phases: item generation, pre- and pilot testing, and test administration. Items were generated largely from a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews of patients. Face and content validity were assessed through pre- and pilot testing in 80 patients and the final version was administered to 100 patients who also received the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and the Skindex-16. Each patient also underwent a physician global assessment (PGA) of the impact of vitiligo. Test-retest reliability was assessed in 20 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 72 items initially generated for the scale, 27 were retained in the final version. Subjects were able to comprehend the items and took about 5-7 min to complete the instrument. The scale was internally consistent (Cronbach's α = 0.85). Scores on the scale correlated moderately well with the DLQI and the Skindex (Spearman rank correlation: 0.51 and 0.65, respectively). The scale was able to discriminate between patients having mild and those having moderate and severe impact as assessed by PGA. The test-retest reliability coefficient (Spearman rank correlation) was 0.80.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Vitiligo Impact Scale appears to be a valid measure of the psychosocial impact of vitiligo and this instrument may be useful both in the clinic and in clinical trials.
authors: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors: Gaurang S
authors: GS
authors: Krishna
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Ramam
authors: Manju
authors: M
authors: Mehta
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Sreenivas
authors: Vinod K
authors: VK
authors: Sharma
authors: Sujay
authors: S
authors: Khandpur
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011584:Psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult