Reliability and Validity of Dampness Syndrome Scale of Chinese Medicine Using for Persistent Asthma Patients： a Cross-Sectional Study / 中医杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo evaluate the reliability and validity of the Dampness Syndrome Scale of Chinese Medicine （DSSCM） among patients with persistent asthma， and to explore the correlation between dampness syndrome and clinical characteristics of persistent asthma. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted. Basic information， examination results， DSSCM， Asthma Control Test （ACT）， Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 （GAD-7）， and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 （PHQ-9） scores were collected from 206 patients with persistent asthma to evaluate the reliability and validity of DSSCM and to explore the correlation between dampness syndrome and clinical characteristics. ResultsThe mean score of DSSCM among 206 patients was 14.59 ± 10.53. The overall Cronbach α coefficient and Spearman-Brown split-half reliability coefficient of the scale were both greater than 0.8， and the success rate of scale convergent and discriminant validity calibration were greater than 80%. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the χ2/df was 2.309， and the root mean square error of approximation （RMSEA） was 0.08； the root mean square residual （RMR） was 0.049， whereas the comparative fit index （CFI）， the goodness of fit index （GFI）， the adjusted goodness of fit index （AGFI）， the normed fit index （NFI） and the incremental fit index （IFI） were less than 0.9. Correlation analysis showed that DSSCM scores were positively correlated with disease duration， GAD-7 scores， and PHQ-9 scores （P＜0.05）， and negatively correlated with ACT scores （P＜0.01）. The DSSCM scores were significantly different between patients with different disease severity （H = 10.92， P = 0.01）， and the DSSCM scores of allergic patients were higher than those of non-allergic patients （Z = -4.19， P＜0.001）. ConclusionDSSCM has acceptable reliability and validity for patients with persistent asthma. The scores of DSSCM correlated with the disease duration， ACT score， GAD-7 score， PHQ-9 score， disease severity and allergic status of persistent asthmatics.