Validation of the Lithuanian version of the Prolapse Quality-of-Life questionnaire.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to translate and validate the Lithuanian version of the Prolapse Quality-of-Life (P-QOL) questionnaire. METHODS: The P-QOL questionnaire was translated into Lithuanian and administered to women recruited from a gynaecology outpatient clinic at a tertiary referral centre. The scores of the final version were compared in symptomatic (n = 137) and asymptomatic (n = 137) women and with findings on vaginal examination using the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system. The reliability was assessed by calculating Cronbach's alpha and by performing a test-retest analysis. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in median score for each P-QOL domain between symptomatic and asymptomatic women (p < 0.001). P-QOL scores correlated significantly with the stage of urogenital prolapse in most domains. High internal consistency was shown in all domains with a Cronbach's alpha range of 0.775 to 0.958, except for the "social limitations" domain, which was shown to be acceptable (0.647). Test-retest reliability was also high in all domains (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The Lithuanian version of the P-QOL questionnaire has proven to be a valid, reliable and easily comprehensible instrument for assessing symptom severity and impact on the quality of life of Lithuanian-speaking women with urogenital prolapse.