Quality of Life in Hand Eczema Questionnaire: Validation of the Japanese version of a disease‐specific measure of quality of life for hand eczema patients

Abstract

Hand eczema (HE) is a common skin disease that impairs health‐related quality of life (HRQOL). Impairments in HRQOL have already been reported in Japanese HE patients using the Skindex‐16. Recently, an instrument to measure disease‐specific HRQOL in HE patients was developed by an international expert group, consisting of domains for: (i) symptoms; (ii) emotions; (iii) functioning; and (iv) treatment and prevention. The objective of this study is to translate the English‐language version of the Quality of Life Hand Eczema Questionnaire (QOLHEQ) to Japanese and then to validate the Japanese version. The Japanese version of the QOLHEQ, the Dermatological Life Quality Index (DLQI) and a questionnaire regarding basic demographic information, including patient ratings of HE severity, were distributed to Japanese HE patients. Additionally, a dermatologist evaluated patients’ HE severity using the Physician Global Assessment. A total of 124 patients with a mean age of 43.7 years were included in the analysis, and 78% of the sample was female. Cronbach's alphas for the domains symptoms, emotions, functioning, and treatment and prevention were 0.76, 0.89, 0.88 and 0.81, respectively. The total QOLHEQ score showed a strong correlation with the DLQI, a moderate correlation with patient‐rated severity and weak correlations with dermatologist‐rated severity and the number of consultations. The Japanese version of the QOLHEQ showed excellent reliability and high validity. The Japanese version of the QOLHEQ is ready for use in epidemiological studies to evaluate HRQOL impairments in HE patients.

Validation of the Danish version of the Quality of Life in Hand Eczema Questionnaire ( QOLHEQ )

“…The Danish version demonstrated excellent internal consistency and good construct validity. Most of our a priori hypotheses on construct validity were confirmed, in alignment with previous studies 1–3 . The correlations between QOLHEQ and the physician‐rated HE severity assessments (PGA and HECSI) were stronger than hypothesized.…”

“…Dear Editor , Health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) measurements are important patient‐reported outcomes when evaluating treatment responses and the effect of interventions in patients with hand eczema (HE). In recent years, the disease‐specific Quality of Life in Hand Eczema Questionnaire (QOLHEQ) has been increasingly used and validated in different languages 1–3 . However, a Danish validation is missing.…”

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Atopic Dermatitis and Chronic Hand Eczema in Adults

“…The QOLHEQ was more sensitive to change in CHE severity than the DLQI, Skindex-17, or EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) [50]. Validation studies have been conducted in a cross-cultural setting and with a Japanese version of the measure [51, 52], providing additional support for its construct validity. The QOLHEQ also has been used in a 5-year registry evaluating the management of patients with CHE [53].…”

Interpretability of the Quality Of Life in Hand Eczema Questionnaire

“…Although international values can now be compared, still only in three countries (Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands) have validation studies been performed to assess measurement properties and precision of QOLHEQ measurements specifically for that country (Minamoto et al, 2018;Ofenloch et al, 2014;Oosterhaven et al, 2019). To use the QOLHEQ in a new language version, a validation study should still be performed (Oosterhaven et al, 2017).…”

“…It is used to measure impairment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with hand eczema. The QOLHEQ was validated for national use in Germany and Japan (Minamoto et al, 2018;Ofenloch et al, 2014). Furthermore, a cross-cultural validation was performed involving six countries (Ofenloch et al, 2017), classifying the QOLHEQ as a third generation measurement instrument for assessing HRQoL (Nijsten, 2012).…”