title: Assessing quality of life in Taiwanese patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the clinical significance of quality of life (QOL) related specifically to Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) among Taiwanese patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 271 patients with GO who were seen at the National Taiwan University Hospital Department of Ophthalmology from September 1, 2012 to November 30, 2012. Patients completed the GO-QOL Questionnaire. The main outcome measures were the scores on two GO-QOL subscales: visual functioning and appearance. The percentage of responses occurring at the maximum and minimum values was also calculated to assess possible ceiling and floor effects, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean ± standard deviation QOL scores for the subscales of visual functioning and appearance were 58.39 ± 25.17 and 54.45 ± 20.52, respectively. The scores for both subscales were significantly correlated with disease severity and clinical activity scores (all p < 0.05). The QOL scores for the appearance subscale were significantly correlated with the degree of diplopia (p < 0.05). No significant ceiling or floor effects were observed for either subscale of the GO-QOL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Scores on the Chinese (Taiwan) version of the GO-QOL were strongly correlated with disease severity and clinical activity. The GO-QOL is a simple and practical tool that can be used to evaluate health-related QOL in GO patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Shuang-Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: I-Chan
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Chi-Mei Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Chao
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, National Taiwan University Hospital, School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: liaosl89@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Shu-Lang
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Liao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D005260:Female; D049970:Graves Ophthalmopathy / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Graves' ophthalmopathy; quality of life; questionnaire