Ef. Juniper et al., Validation of the standardized version of the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire, J ALLERG CL, 104(2), 1999, pp. 364-369
Background: In the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ)
, the 3 activity questions are selected by the patients themselves. For gre
ater efficiency, a version with standardized activities is required.
Objective: Our purpose was to develop and validate a standardized version o
f the RQLQ, the RQLQ(S),
Methods: With use of 5 RQLQ databases, we identified the activities most fr
equently selected by patients and formulated 3 generic questions that would
encompass the majority of these activities. The RQLQ(S) was tested in a 5-
week observational study in 100 adults with symptomatic rhinoconjunctivitis
. Patients completed the RQLQ(S), the RQLQ, and other measures of health st
atus at baseline and 1 and 5 weeks.
Results: The activity domain of the RQLQ(S) consistently gave lower scores
than did the activity domain of the RQLQ (P < .001). However, this made ver
y little difference to the overall scores (RQLQ[S] = 2.36 +/- 1.23, RQLQ= 2
.43 +/- 1.23), and overall concordance was high (intraclass correlation coe
fficient = 0.996). In patients whose rhinoconjunctivitis was stable between
clinic visits, reliability (reproducibility and ability to discriminate be
tween patients of different impairment) was high for both instruments and a
lmost identical (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.97). Responsiveness
to change was also very similar and good (P < .001). Construct validity (c
orrelation with other index values of health status) was strong for both th
e RQLQ(S) and the RQLQ.
Conclusions: The RQLQ(S) has strong measurement properties and measures the
same construct as the original RQLQ, The choice of questionnaire should de
pend on the task at hand.