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Reliability of the autoimmune bullous disease quality of life (ABQOL) questionnaire in the USA

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the reliability of the autoimmune bullous diseases quality of life (ABQOL) questionnaire in a North American patient cohort.

Methods

Patients attending the dermatology clinics of the University of Pennsylvania with a histological diagnosis of an autoimmune bullous disease (AIBD) and self-reported proficiency in English were recruited to participate in the study. Patients completed the ABQOL questionnaire at Day 0 and Day 3. Internal consistency was calculated through Cronbach’s alpha. Test–retest reliability was determined by the intraclass correlation coefficient.

Results

Of the 45 patients enrolled in the study, 39 patients (87 %) participated to completion. The mean age was 60.7 years with an equal sex distribution observed. Patients had a range of AIBD including pemphigus vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus foliaceus, epidermolysis bullosa acquisita, mucous membrane pemphigoid and linear IgA disease. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to be 0.90. The intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated to be 0.93 (95 % confidence interval 0.88–0.94).

Conclusion

The ABQOL was found to be reliable tested by internal consistency and test–retest reliability in an American patient cohort. It represents a promising disease-specific outcome measure for patients with AIBD.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to the Medical Dermatology Society for awarding Deshan Sebaratnam a mentorship with Victoria Werth to complete this research and a poster prize at the Medical Dermatology Society Annual Meeting 2014; and to John Stanley, Ioannis Koutroulis and Nicole Fett for their assistance with patient recruitment. This material is supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development).

Conflicts of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University of New South Wales, St George Hospital Campus, Sydney, Australia

    Deshan F. Sebaratnam & Dédée F. Murrell

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Joyce Okawa, Aimee Payne & Victoria P. Werth

  3. Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, South Pavilion, 1st Floor, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Victoria P. Werth

Authors
  1. Deshan F. Sebaratnam
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  2. Joyce Okawa
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  3. Aimee Payne
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  4. Dédée F. Murrell
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  5. Victoria P. Werth
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victoria P. Werth.

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Sebaratnam, D.F., Okawa, J., Payne, A. et al. Reliability of the autoimmune bullous disease quality of life (ABQOL) questionnaire in the USA. Qual Life Res 24, 2257–2260 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-0965-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-0965-z

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