Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Validity and reliability of the Bengali version of the Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire

  • Published:
Quality of Life Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is endemic in Bangladesh, and the quality of life (QoL) of these patients remains unknown as there is no instrument available in the native language. In this study, we translated the 56-item Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (HQLQ) into Bengali and evaluated its validity and reliability.

Methods

Fifty patients with asymptomatic chronic hepatitis B and 50 similarly infected patients who received Lamivudine were recruited. The HQLQ instrument was administered to the participants at baseline and 6 months to evaluate its validity and reliability, as well as the responsiveness of the QoL scales.

Results

HBV patients reported lower scores on General Health, Vitality, Role Emotional, Physical Component Summary and Mental Component Summary, as compared with other scales. Item-scale correlations were generally large, thus supporting item convergent validity. Inter-scale correlations suggested convergent and discriminant validity. The instrument discriminated well between groups with differing clinical status and was responsive to changes in health status over time.

Conclusions

Generally, we found the Bengali HQLQ to be a valid and reliable instrument for capturing the QoL and disease burden of HBV patients in Bangladesh.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Liang, T. J. (2009). Hepatitis B: The virus and disease. Hepatology, 49(Suppl 5), 13–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lok, A. S. F., Leeuwen, D. J. V., Thomas, H. C., & Sherlock, S. (1985). Psychosocial impact of chronic infection with hepatitis B virus on British patients. Genitourinary Medicine, 61(4), 279–282.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Kunkel, E. J. S., Kim, J. S., Hann, H. W., Oyesanmi, O., Menefee, L. A., Field, H. L., et al. (2000). Depression in Korean immigrants with hepatitis B and relative liver diseases. Psychosomatics, 41(6), 472–480.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Davis, G. L., Balart, L. A., Schiff, E. R., Lindsay, K., Bodenheimer, H. C., Perrillo, R. P., et al. (1994). Assessing health-related quality of life in chronic hepatitis C using the sickness impact profile. Clinical Therapeutics, 16(2), 334–343.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Foster, G. R., Gorlin, R. D., & Thomas, H. C. (1998). Chronic hepatitis C virus infection causes a significant reduction in quality of life in the absence of cirrhosis. Hepatology, 27(1), 209–212.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Bayliss, M. S., Gandek, B., Bungay, K. M., Sugano, D., Hsu, M. A., & Ware, J. E., Jr. (1998). A questionnaire to assess the generic and disease-specific health outcomes of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Quality of Life Research, 7(1), 39–55.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Younossi, Z. M., Guyatt, G., Kiwi, M., Boparai, N., & King, D. (1999). Development of a disease specific questionnaire to measure health related quality of life in patients with chronic liver disease. Gut, 45(2), 295–300.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Andre, F. (2000). Hepatitis B epidemiology in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Vaccine, 18(Suppl 1), 20–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. QualityMetric Inc. (1998). Hepatitis quality of life questionnaire (HQLQ) Scoring Documentation.

  10. http://www.qualitymetric.com/WhatWeDo/LanguageTranslations/tabid/213/Default.aspx. Accessed on 9 Mar 2010.

  11. Medical Outcomes Trust. (2002). Assessing health status and quality-of-life instruments: Attributes and review criteria. Quality of Life Research, 11(3), 193–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Fayer, P. M., & Machin, D. (2000). Quality of life: Assessment, analysis and interpretation. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Owens, D. K. (1998). In the eye of the beholder: Assessment of health-related quality of life. Hepatology, 27(1), 292–293.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Ahmed, S. M., Rana, A. K., Chowdhury, M., & Bhuiya, A. (2002). Measuring perceived health outcomes in non-western culture: Does SF-36 have a place? Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 20(4), 334–342.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank QualityMetric Inc for their kind permission to use the HQLQ instrument.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Zhao-Jin Chen, Nan Luo & Bee-Choo Tai

  2. Department of Hepatology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Mamun Al-Mahtab & Salimar Rahman

  3. Viral Hepatitis Foundation Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Mamun Al-Mahtab & Salimar Rahman

  4. SingHealth Polyclinics (Pasir Ris), Singapore, Singapore

    Ngiap-Chuan Tan

  5. Center for Health Services Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Nan Luo

Authors
  1. Zhao-Jin Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mamun Al-Mahtab
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Salimar Rahman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ngiap-Chuan Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nan Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Bee-Choo Tai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bee-Choo Tai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chen, ZJ., Al-Mahtab, M., Rahman, S. et al. Validity and reliability of the Bengali version of the Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire. Qual Life Res 19, 1343–1348 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-010-9702-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-010-9702-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation