Comparison of QoL-AD and DQoL in elderly with Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE: The Dementia Quality of Life (DQoL) and the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD) are the two most widely used dementia-specific QoL instruments in the world. We aimed to compare the psychometric properties of these two instruments and identify which is most adapted to use in geriatric consultations. METHODS: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the French language validation of DQoL and QoL-AD, 123 patients aged 65 years and over suffering from AD (Mini Mental State Examination score ≥10) were recruited in seven French hospitals and one Switzerland hospital. The DQoL comprises 29 items, ranked on a five-point Likert scale and measuring five QoL domains: self-esteem, positive affect, negative affect, feeling of belonging and sense of aesthetics. The QoL-AD contains 13 items giving an overall score ranging from 13 to 52 and evaluating the domains of interpersonal relationships, financial difficulties, physical condition, memory, mood and overall health. RESULTS: Both questionnaires showed adequate reproducibility at 2 weeks interval (intra-class correlation coefficient >0.80), good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient >0.70) and good convergent validity with the general health dimension of the Duke Health Profile. The time required to complete the QoL-AD was significantly shorter (p < 0.0001). DQoL had better discriminant capacity (with at least one dimension significant for each subgroup of severity of cognitive decline, dependency, presence of depression or behavioural disorders). CONCLUSIONS: For quick evaluation of QoL during consultations in geriatric care, the QoL-AD is preferable, whereas for the purposes of research and more in-depth evaluation, the DQoL is more suitable.

Quality of life, stress, anxiety and depression and associated factors among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Western region Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: The objective of this study is to evaluate the quality of life (QoL), depression, anxiety, and stress, along with associated factors among individuals with diabetes in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This survey was conducted at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The assessment of depression, anxiety, and stress related to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) was conducted using the DASS-21 questionnaire, while diabetes-related QoL was evaluated using the revised version of the diabetes QoL questionnaire (RV-DQoL13). Data were analyzed using SPSS-26. Results: A total of 251 subjects were included in the study (165 [65.7%] males and 86 [34.3%] females, mean age 50.1 ± 14.5 years). The individuals with DM had a mean value of QoL of 29.16 ± 9.23, with 46.9% having poor QoL. Furthermore, in dimensions of QoL, almost half of the individuals reported high worry about the disease (49.6%), followed by a high diabetes impact (46.6%) and low life satisfaction (42.9%). The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was 49.4, 71.7, and 49.8%, respectively. A significant correlation was found between depression, anxiety, and stress and DASS-21 scores with QoL (p < 0.001). The regression analysis indicated an association of distinct factors with QoL like age above 41 years (p = 0.004), being married (p < 0.001), being divorced (p = 0.04), higher education (p = 0.007), regular medicine intake (p = 0.01), regular exercise (p = 0.03), lipid profile (p = 0.01), HbA1c (p < 0.001), and DASS-21 scores (p < 0.001). Poor QoL score (TQoL score > 27) was significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and stress (p < 0.001). The participants with higher monthly income, shorter disease duration, regular medicine use, and altered lipid profile, and older subjects had a lower chance of depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusion: Approximately half of individuals with T2DM experienced poor QoL, while the prevalence rates for depression, anxiety, and stress were 49.4, 71.7, and 49.8%, respectively. Scores in the domains of impact, worry, and satisfaction were below optimal levels. Several factors were linked to QoL and depression, anxiety, and stress, and an association was observed between DASS-21 scores and QoL.

Nail surgery: the effect of clinical and psychological characteristics on post-surgical quality of life and pain severity

Background: Nail disease and nail surgery are commonly perceived as painful and distressful experiences that can significantly affect patient health-related quality of life. A comprehensive management of patients undergoing dermatological surgery could improve their emotional experience, influence quality of life and, hopefully, improve their adaptation to the intervention. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether patient psychological characteristics may relate to nail intervention procedures and influence post-surgical quality of life and pain severity. Materials & Methods: This prospective observational monocentric cohort study was conducted in the Dermatology Nail Unit of Bologna. Patient candidates for nail surgery, meeting the inclusion criteria, were invited to participate in the study which consisted of completion of a self-report questionnaire before (Time 1) and one month after (Time 2) surgery. Results: Nail surgery was performed for 102 patients: 46 underwent highly invasive and 56 mildly invasive nail procedures. In total, 46 nail tumours were excised which were shown to be benign in 36 cases and malignant in 10 cases. Patients with a high level of pain sensitivity and trait of anxiety reported significantly lower levels of quality of life and high levels of pain intensity one month after surgery (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need for clinicians to consider the psychological characteristics of patients following dermatological surgery care in order to balance the negative impact of trait anxiety, pain sensitivity and negative treatment expectations regarding post-surgery quality of life and pain severity.

Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Diabetes Quality of Life Scale in Afaan Oromoo among People Living with Type 2 Diabetes in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: The original 46-item diabetes quality of life (DQOL) scale has been translated into different languages, and the translated DQOL has shown good reliability and validity after deleting some items. The aim of this study was to translate the diabetes quality of life (DQOL) scale into Afaan Oromoo and to culturally adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the DQOL-Afaan Oromoo (DQOL-AO) among people living with T2D in Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with a convenience sampling technique was conducted in 2020. The DQOL was translated and adapted to Afaan Oromoo. Item-total correlations and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) assessed factor structure; the Cronbach's alpha assessed internal consistency and relationships with gender, educational status, marital status, age, and employment status; and status of diabetes-related disease assessed the construct validity of the DQOL-AO. RESULTS: 417 participants responded to all items of the DQOL. Item-total correlation analysis and EFA produced a 34-item DQOL-AO with four subscales, which demonstrated that the internal consistency of the overall DQOL-AO was 0.867, and scores were 0.827, 0.846, 0.654, and 0.727 for the impact, satisfaction, social/vocational worry, and diabetes-related worry subscales, respectively. Statistically significant differences between QOL were obtained in educational status (F = 7.164, p < 0.001) and employment status (F = 4.21, p = 0.002). Individuals who attended college and above and government employees had better QOL. CONCLUSION: The 34-item DQOL-AO provided preliminary evidence as a reliable and valid tool to measure diabetic-related QOL before it can be widely used among adults living with T2D who speak Afaan Oromoo.

Measuring the reliability and validity of the Greek edition of the Diabetes Quality of Life Brief Clinical Inventory.

BACKGROUND: The present study focuses on studying the validity and reliability of the Greek edition of DQOL-BCI. DQOL-BCI includes 15 questions-elements that are evaluated on a 5-grade scale like Likert and two general form-shapes. METHODS: The translation process was conducted in conformity with the guidelines of EuroQol group. A non-random sample of 65 people-patients diagnosed with diabetes I and II was selected. The questionnaire that was used to collect the data was the translated version of DQOL-BCI, and included the demographic characteristics of the interviewees. The content validity of DQOL-BCI was re-examined from a team of five experts (expert panel) for qualitative and quantitative performance. The completion of the questionnaire was done via a personal interview. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 58 people (35 men and 23 women, 59.9 ±â€¯10.9 years). The translation of the questionnaire was found appropriate in accordance to the peculiarities of the Greek language and culture. The largest deviation of values is observed in QOL1 (1.71) in comparison to QOL6 (2.98). The difference between the standard deviations is close to 0.6. The statistics results of the tests showed satisfactory content validity and high construct validity, while the high values for Cronbach alpha index (0.95) reveal high reliability and internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: The Greek version of DQOL-BCI has acceptable psychometric properties and appears to demonstrate high internal reliability and satisfactory construct validity, which allows its use as an important tool in evaluating the quality of life of diabetic patients in relation to their health.

Is the screening test of the French version of the dementia quality of life questionnaire indispensable?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the screening questions in the French version of the Dementia Quality of Life (DQoL) questionnaire. To assess the psychometric properties of the French DQoL, 155 patients with mild-to-moderate dementia were recruited. Here, we compared the psychometric properties of the instrument between patients who passed the screening test (n = 109) and the whole study population (n = 155). The French DQoL version showed a good test-retest reliability at a 2-week interval (0.95 ≤ intraclass correlation coefficients ≤ 1.0), and an average internal consistency (0.58 ≤ Cronbach's α ≤ 0.87) for the 2 study groups. Significant differences were observed in the 2 groups for 4 dimensions of the DQoL regarding dementia severity (Cornell scale), and for 3 dimensions evaluating depression (MMSE). Convergent validity with the Duke Health Profile revealed many significant correlations between dimensions not only in the 109 patients, but also in the whole study population. Our study demonstrated that patients who failed the screening procedure nonetheless seemed to be able to answer the DQoL questionnaire, the whole study group showing acceptable psychometric properties.