Jitske Tiemensma1, Sarah Depaoli2, John M Felt2. 1. Psychological SciencesUniversity of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, California 95343, USA jtiemensma@ucmerced.edu. 2. Psychological SciencesUniversity of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, California 95343, USA.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Patients in long-term remission of Cushing's syndrome (CS) commonly report impaired quality of life (QoL). The CushingQoL questionnaire is a disease-specific QoL questionnaire for patients diagnosed with CS. The developers of the CushingQoL recommend using a global (total) score to assess QoL. However, the global score does not capture all aspects of QoL as outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare the performance of different scoring options to determine the optimal method for the CushingQoL. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Patients in remission from CS (n=341) were recruited from the Cushing's Syndrome Research Foundation's email listserv and Facebook page, and asked to complete the CushingQoL and a short demographics survey. RESULTS: Using an exploratory analysis, adequate model fit was obtained for the global score, as well as a 2-subscale (psychosocial issues and physical problems) scoring solution. Confirmatory methods were performed to identify the optimal scoring solution. Both the global score and the 2-subscale scoring solution showed adequate model fit. However, a χ(2) difference test indicated that the 2-subscale scoring solution was a significantly better fit than the global score (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: If doctors or researchers would like to tease apart physical and psychosocial issues, the 2-subscale scoring solution would be recommended, since this solution showed to be optimal in scoring the CushingQoL. Regardless of the scoring solution used, the CushingQoL has proven to be a valuable resource for assessing health-related QoL in patients with CS.
CONTEXT: Patients in long-term remission of Cushing's syndrome (CS) commonly report impaired quality of life (QoL). The CushingQoL questionnaire is a disease-specific QoL questionnaire for patients diagnosed with CS. The developers of the CushingQoL recommend using a global (total) score to assess QoL. However, the global score does not capture all aspects of QoL as outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare the performance of different scoring options to determine the optimal method for the CushingQoL. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Patients in remission from CS (n=341) were recruited from the Cushing's Syndrome Research Foundation's email listserv and Facebook page, and asked to complete the CushingQoL and a short demographics survey. RESULTS: Using an exploratory analysis, adequate model fit was obtained for the global score, as well as a 2-subscale (psychosocial issues and physical problems) scoring solution. Confirmatory methods were performed to identify the optimal scoring solution. Both the global score and the 2-subscale scoring solution showed adequate model fit. However, a χ(2) difference test indicated that the 2-subscale scoring solution was a significantly better fit than the global score (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: If doctors or researchers would like to tease apart physical and psychosocial issues, the 2-subscale scoring solution would be recommended, since this solution showed to be optimal in scoring the CushingQoL. Regardless of the scoring solution used, the CushingQoL has proven to be a valuable resource for assessing health-related QoL in patients with CS.