Health-related quality of life in allergic rhinitis: comparing the short form ESPRINT-15 and MiniRQLQ questionnaires

• Published in: Allergy Vol. 62; no. 12; pp. 1372 - 1378
• Main Authors: Valero, A, Alonso, J, Antépara, I, Baró, E, Colás, C, del Cuvillo, A, Ferrer, M, Herdman, M, Marti-Guadaño, E, Monclús, L, Navarro-Pulido, A.M, Sastre, J, Izquierdo, I, Mullol, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-2007; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Conjunctivitis, Allergic - physiopathology; Conjunctivitis, Allergic - psychology; Dermatology; ESPRINT-15; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; Health Status; health-related quality of life; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; mini-Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire; Psychometrics - instrumentation; Psychometrics - standards; Quality of Life - psychology; Reproducibility of Results; rhinitis; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial - physiopathology; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial - psychology; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal - physiopathology; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal - psychology; Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity of Illness Index; Sickness Impact Profile; Spain; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Spain; Human; Allergy; Immunopathology; Nose disease; Questionnaire; Rhinitis; Dermatology; mini-Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire; Conjunctiva disease; Conjunctivitis; Health-Related Quality of Life; ESPRINT-15; Quality of life; Eye disease; Immunology; ENT disease; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0105-4538; 1398-9995; 0108-1675
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2007.01552.x

We compared the psychometric properties of the ESPRINT-15, the short form of a new Spanish instrument to measure health-related quality of life in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients, with those of the Mini-Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (MiniRQLQ). The questionnaires were compared in Spanish patients with intermittent allergic rhinitis (IAR) or persistent AR in a prospective, observational study. Floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient; ICC), convergent and known groups validity, and sensitivity to change (standardized response means; SRMs) were compared. In terms of content, while the MiniRQLQ has a dimension covering practical problems and places more emphasis on symptoms, the ESPRINT-15 has two dimensions (Sleep and Psychological impact) which are not included in the MiniRQLQ. In the validation study, 400 patients were included and 59% of the sample had persistent AR. There were no significant floor or ceiling effects on any dimension on either questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha values for the ESPRINT-15 and MiniRQLQ overall scores were 0.92 and 0.90, respectively. In 48 clinically stable patients, ICCs were 0.80 and 0.77, respectively. Both instruments discriminated between patients with IAR and persistent AR. Correlations with symptom scores and generic measures were moderate to strong. SRMs for overall scores and individual dimensions on the two questionnaires in the 197 patients reporting a change in health status ranged from 0.7 to 1.3. Both questionnaires performed well in psychometric terms. The ESPRINT-15 is particularly recommended for use in Spanish-speaking populations.