Linguistic Validation of the LupusQoL for the Assessment of Quality of Life in Iranian Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objectives. We evaluated the psychometric properties of the Persian LupusQoL for the evaluation of quality of life in Iranian systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Methods. The LupusQoL was translated to Persian language. Patients with SLE ( ) completed the LupusQoL and the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Disease activity and cumulative disease damage were assessed with standard indices. The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated. Results. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.97 for the total LupusQoL (above 0.8 for subscales). There were strong corrected item-total ( ), item-subscale ( ), and subscale-total correlations ( ), as well as intersubscale correlations ( ). Patients with active disease and patients with disease damage index of ≥1 had lower scores in domains of planning, emotional health, burden to others, and body image than patients with inactive disease and those with no disease damage, respectively ( ). The LupusQoL and the SF-36 correlated well regarding comparable domains ( ). Conclusion. The psychometric characteristics of the Persian version of LupusQoL questionnaire are acceptable in Iranian population. This instrument can be used to evaluate quality of life in Iranian SLE patients. 1. Introduction Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic disease with relapsing-remitting periods leading to high morbidity and disability in many of the patients [1]. A comprehensive evaluation of the disease state should contain disease activity, cumulative damage, and patients’ quality of life (QoL) [2]. SLE specifically impairs QoL from physical, emotional, and social aspects. Therefore, according to international consensus recommendations on outcome measures in rheumatology clinical trials, QoL is among the major domains that should be assessed in clinical trials and cohorts on SLE [3]. There are generic and disease-specific measures to assess QoL. Generic measures, such as the Short-Form Health Survey-36 (SF-36), assess the patient condition in a more comprehensive manner and allow comparison between different groups (patients and healthy individuals). However, these measures are not focused on aspects of a specific disease and might not be sensitive to important clinical changes during treatment. Therefore, disease specific measures are developed not only to focus on those aspects of life being affected by the disease but also to evaluate the efficacy of different treatments [4]. In terms of the QOL in SLE patients, some disease-specific instruments are developed and applied in various studies up to now including the SLEQoL [5],