A SELF-ADMINISTERED QUALITY-OF-LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE AFTER ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

A slightly modified version of the Quality-of-Life after Myocardial In farction (QLMI) questionnaire developed by Oldridge and colleagues was applied in a self-administered mode to patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a randomized controlled trial of second ary prevention. Acceptability of the questionnaire was good, with 93% of responders answering all items. Factor analysis suggested three qua lity-of-life (QL) dimensions which we called ''emotional'', ''physical '' and ''social''. These differed somewhat from the dimensions propose d by Oldridge and colleagues. However, a sensitivity analysis showed r elative invariance of results to weighting schemes. Scores on our thre e dimensions were responsive to differences between the treatment grou ps, and demonstrated construct validity based on associations between the measured QL and variables expected to affect QL. We conclude that the QLMI questionnaire has good potential as an instrument for assessi ng QL in post-AMI patients and that it can be successfully self-admini stered.