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Validation of a quality-of-life scale for women with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis

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Abstract

Purpose

To validate a disease-specific scale to measure the impact of symptoms of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC), a condition that affects up to 6.5% of US women.

Methods

Participants were drawn from the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology (RICE) Study, a telephone probability survey of 146,231 US households. Women who met RICE BPS/IC symptom criteria (n = 3,397) completed the 6-item RAND Bladder Symptom Impact scale (RICE BSI-6). The RICE BSI-6 was adapted from a scale used to assess the impact of diabetes on life and sexuality and modified based on expert input on face validity and focus group work; items specific to diabetic symptoms were eliminated. Validated scales of symptom severity, mental- and physical-health-related quality of life (QoL), depression, coping, and perceived control were used to assess convergent validity.

Results

The RICE BSI-6 (α = 0.92) was significantly related to greater symptom severity, worse general mental- and physical-health-related QoL, more severe depression symptoms, and lower perceived control over life in general and over BPS/IC symptoms (P values < .05). It was also associated with less use of distancing coping (P < .05).

Conclusion

The RICE BSI-6 shows excellent internal consistency and strong convergent validity. It can be used to examine the effects of psychosocial and treatment interventions on QoL among women with BPS/IC.

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Abbreviations

BPS/IC:

Bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis

RICE:

RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology Study

RICE BSI-6:

RICE Bladder Symptom Impact Scale (6 items)

PDMQ:

Perceptions of Diabetes Mellitus Questionnaire

PHQ-8:

Patient Health Questionnaire (8 items)

QoL:

Quality of life

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by U01 DK 070234 from the National Institutes of Health.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, 21 Autumn Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Laura M. Bogart

  2. RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA

    Marika J. Suttorp, Marc N. Elliott & Sandra H. Berry

  3. Department of Urology, University of Michigan Medical Center, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Taubman Center 3875, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5330, USA

    J. Quentin Clemens

Authors
  1. Laura M. Bogart
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  2. Marika J. Suttorp
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  3. Marc N. Elliott
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  4. J. Quentin Clemens
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  5. Sandra H. Berry
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura M. Bogart.

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Bogart, L.M., Suttorp, M.J., Elliott, M.N. et al. Validation of a quality-of-life scale for women with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis. Qual Life Res 21, 1665–1670 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-0085-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-0085-3

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