Uterine Fibroid Symptom and Quality of Life questionnaire (UFS-QOL NL) in the Dutch population: a validation study

Abstract

ObjectiveUterine fibroids can cause a variety of symptoms in women, from heavy menstrual bleeding and dysmenorrhea to bulk symptoms. The Uterine Fibroid Symptom and health-related Quality Of Life questionnaire (UFS-QOL) is a patient-reported outcome measure developed for assessing fibroid-related symptoms in a standardised way. Our aim was to translate and validate the UFS-QOL in Dutch.DesignValidation study.SettingPatients were recruited by a gynaecologist at the outpatient clinic.ParticipantsWomen with uterine fibroids.MethodsThe UFS-QOL was translated into Dutch (UFS-QOL NL) and validated through testing construct validity (comprising of structural validity and hypotheses testing), reliability, responsiveness and interpretability, assessing floor and ceiling effects and minimal important change. An option to answer ‘not applicable’ was added to the translated questionnaire.Results191 women with uterine fibroids completed the UFS-QOL NL at baseline, after 2 weeks and after 3 months. The questionnaire retained the same factor structure after translation (Comparative Fit Index 0.94–0.95; Tucker-Lewis fit Index 0.93–0.95; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation 0.10–0.11) and correlations to other questionnaires (RAND 36, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction) were generally moderate, as hypothesised (Pearson’s r 0.3–0.7). We found a sufficient reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients of approximately 0.8–0.9 for all subscales. Responsiveness was sufficient when testing hypotheses comparing women who had surgery with those who did not. Cronbach’s alpha was higher than 0.7 for all subscales, indicating sufficient internal consistency and there were no concerns about floor or ceiling effects. Minimal important change could not be calculated due to low correlation between the different subscales and the anchor question.ConclusionsThe results support the measurement properties of the Dutch UFS-QOL for assessing fibroid-related symptoms and health-related quality of life in Dutch women with uterine fibroids.

The effect of transcervical resection of submucous fibroids on menstrual blood loss: A prospective cohort study

“…Baseline characteristics like age, ethnicity, BMI, smoking status, medication use and obstetric history were registered by patients at baseline. Patients were asked register their menstrual cycle using PBAC and complete the UFS-QOL at baseline [18][19][20]23,25]. We developed a smart phone application to facilitate patients in registering their PBAC scores.…”

“…Since HMB was an inclusion criterion, all operated patients had a PBAC score of > 150 at baseline. The UFS-QOL measures symptom severity as well as health related quality of life (HRQOL) and is validated in the Dutch population [23,25]. Higher scores on the symptom scale (0-100) are suggestive of more and worse symptoms.…”

Reporting of uterine fibroids on ultrasound examinations: an illustrated report template focused on surgical planning

“…Uterine fibroids are the most common benign gynecological tumors in women of reproductive age ( 1 , 2 ) . Most women with fibroids are asymptomatic, and nearly a third of patients have significant symptoms such as dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, abnormal uterine bleeding, secondary anemia, pelvic pain, and infertility ( 1 , 2 ) .…”

“…Uterine fibroids are the most common benign gynecological tumors in women of reproductive age ( 1 , 2 ) . Most women with fibroids are asymptomatic, and nearly a third of patients have significant symptoms such as dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, abnormal uterine bleeding, secondary anemia, pelvic pain, and infertility ( 1 , 2 ) . The treatment of patients with uterine fibroids should be individualized on the basis of the symptoms, patient age, patient desire to preserve fertility or the uterus, and the characteristics of the nodules (e.g., size and location), as well as the availability of therapy and the experience of the attending physician ( 2 , 3 ) .…”

A Case Report of Non-puerperal Uterine Inversion due to Submucosa Leiomyoma in a Young Virgin Woman

“…UL can have many side effects such as dyspareunia [3], increase the risk of endometriosis, postpartum hemorrhage, placenta previa, and reduced quality of life [4][5][6][7]. Uterine inversion (UI) is one of the rare complications of ULs.…”