Core lower urinary tract symptom score questionnaire: A psychometric analysis

Abstract

Abbreviations & AcronymsObjectives: To analyze the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the core lower urinary symptom score questionnaire with psychometric methods. Method: The present study included 140 women and 125 men who filled in a core lower urinary symptom score questionnaire while attending two lectures on lower urinary tract symptoms. Missing response rates to individual questions were 1.5-5.3%. After the descriptive analyses including box plot, Cronbach's α coefficients and Spearman's ρ were calculated for reliability and validity assessment, respectively. Factor analysis was also carried out to explore the underlying structure. Results: Of the scores for 10 core symptoms, the interquartile range for pain in the bladder and urethra was 0 in both sexes, and that for stress incontinence was 0 in men. Cronbach's α of the core lower urinary symptom score was 0.733 in women and 0.721 in men. Questions regarding daytime frequency, nocturia, urgency and urgency urinary incontinence, and those on slow stream, straining and feeling of incomplete emptying were significantly correlated with each other in both sexes. Pain in the urethra and bladder showed more extensive associations in women than in men. Factor analysis showed four components in both sexes: the first was storage symptoms, second was voiding symptoms, third was pain and the fourth was urinary incontinence. Conclusions: The core lower urinary symptom score questionnaire shows good reliability and validity for both sexes, and it could be used as screening tool for lower urinary tract symptoms in any clinical setting or epidemiological investigation.

Editorial Comment to Core lower urinary tract symptom score questionnaire: A psychometric analysis

“…The existence of construct validity could be confirmed with factor analytical techniques. The results of the present study indicated that the CLSS questionnaire showed good reliability and validity . In addition, the authors carried out psychometric analyses by sex, and found some difference in correlation of items between men and women.…”

Case‐finding tools for the diagnosis of OAB in women: A narrative review

“…In this regard, the core lower urinary tract symptom score is a 10-item tool that has been studied in men and women to assess overall LUTS (including bladder and urethral pain) with good reliability and validity. [50][51][52] Furthermore, the ability to predict who is likely to develop incontinence symptoms in the future could aid the targeting of medical advice and therapy more appropriately. The MESA questionnaire has shown validity on achieving this aim but requires further study in different patient populations.…”

“…Furthermore, most patients have mixed LUTS and therefore a questionnaire that can identify a range of LUTS may be more useful as a screening tool than a condition‐specific tool. In this regard, the core lower urinary tract symptom score is a 10‐item tool that has been studied in men and women to assess overall LUTS (including bladder and urethral pain) with good reliability and validity . Furthermore, the ability to predict who is likely to develop incontinence symptoms in the future could aid the targeting of medical advice and therapy more appropriately.…”

Standards for Instrument Migration When Implementing Paper Patient-Reported Outcome Instruments Electronically: Recommendations from a Qualitative Synthesis of Cognitive Interview and Usability Studies

“…Other response option types contained in the instruments evaluated included the vertical 101-point scale (specific to the three-level [6] and the five-level [7] EuroQol Five-Dimensional Questionnaire); a single-selection list (identical to the VRS except that categories do not exhibit a logical ordering or size); and a multiple-selection list ranging from 4 to 11 options, with most not limiting the number of options that could be selected (exceptions included the Core Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Diary [22], which asked respondents to select a maximum of three items, for example). Yes/no (17 instruments), number entry fields (8 instruments), free-text fields (3 instruments), and time and date fields (8 and 6 instruments, respectively) were also included in some instruments.…”