The Reliability and Validity of Malay Version of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Health Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (Mal-Pcosq)

Abstract

Background: The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome health related Questionnaire (PCOSQ) is a reliable instrument for measuring the health related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS). The study is aimed to develop a Malay version of PCOSQ (Mal-PCOSQ) to evaluate the HRQoL of Malaysian women with PCOS and to test its reliability and validity. Methods: Participants were women who were diagnosed with PCOS attending the gynaecology clinic. Reliability was determined by internal consistency using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha and test-retest reliability using intra-class correlation coefficient. Validity was assessed through convergent and discriminant validity. Examining the correlation between similar content on the Mal-PCOSQ and the Short Form 36 version 2 (SF 36v2) assessed convergent validity. Whereas the discriminant validity was assessed using the known groups comparison. Results: Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was over 0.70 for total scale and over 0.60 for each subscale. Known groups comparison support its discriminant validity whereby the Mal-PCOSQ differentiated well between sub-groups of women who differ in PCOS specific symptoms. Convergent validity was consistent with a good positive correlation between related subscales of the two instruments. Women with PCOS in Malaysia scored lowest for weight (3.74) and infertility (3.41) domains indicating worse health in these domains. Body hair (5.42) was the least troublesome for the local population. Conclusion: The Mal-PCOSQ is reliable and valid tool in assessing the health related quality of life and can be used to objectively assess the HQoL of Malaysian women with PCOS and evaluate their responsiveness to treatment.