title: A systematic review of quality of thyroid-specific health-related quality-of-life instruments recommends ThyPRO for patients with benign thyroid diseases.
abstract: To appraise the measurement properties of thyroid-specific health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) instruments and to provide recommendations on the choice of HRQOL instruments.
  
  
  
  Systematic review of English-language literature published between 1993 and 2015 identified psychometric studies involving patients with thyroid disease through a search of Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase, and OVID MEDLINE. HRQOL instruments were graded on methodological quality and overall levels of evidence using a COSMIN checklist.
  
  
  
  After a review of 742 original studies, 23 studies reporting 14 standardized HRQOL instruments targeted for Graves' ophthalmopathy (n = 4), hypothyroidism (n = 3), thyroid cancer (n = 2), other thyroid disease (n = 3), and nonthyroid tumor sites (n = 2) were identified. Hypothesis testing was evaluated most frequently. The 84-item thyroid-specific patient-reported outcome measure (ThyPRO) and 16-item Graves' ophthalmopathy-specific Quality-of-Life (GO-QOL) instruments were the most extensively evaluated instrument. The highest number of positive ratings in overall level of psychometric evidence was found in ThyPRO, GO-QOL, and 11-item Thyroid Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (ThyTSQ) instruments.
  
  
  
  The ThyPRO is recommended for the assessment of HRQOL in patients with benign thyroid diseases while measurement properties of GO-QOL and ThyTSQ are satisfactory in measuring HRQOL of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy and hypothyroidism, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, 161 Ap Lei Chau Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong. Electronic address: carlosho@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Carlos K H
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Brian H H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, 161 Ap Lei Chau Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Cindy L K
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: COSMIN; Measurement property; Psychometrics; Quality of life; Systematic review; Thyroid disease