Abstract
In 2010 the Danish regions started a new program of public health surveillance in collaboration with the national and local health authorities using the short form health survey (SF-12) for measuring and reporting on health related quality of life among the Danish adult population. The instrument has not, however, been validated in a Danish setting. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS) score of the 12-item short form health survey (SF-12) in a sample from Central Denmark Region. A total of 26,397 persons above the age of 25 were included in the analyses. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s α. The validity was assessed using known-groups comparisons and convergent validity. The factor structure was investigated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The Cronbach’s α showed high reliability with a score of 0.90 and 0.85 for PCS and MCS respectively. The SF-12 discriminated well with respect to gender, age, educational status and long term illness. Individual items correlated higher with own hypothesized scales than with other scales and summary measures corroborating the convergent validity. The EFA gave a two-factor structure. Irrespective of the chosen rotation method (varimax and oblimin) the items related to PCS loaded on one factor and the items related to MCS loaded on another factor. The factor structure was validated with acceptable model-fit values in CFA. The SF-12 instrument is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among the population of Central Denmark Region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amir, M., Lewin-Epstein, N., Becker, G., & Buskila, D. (2002). Psychometric properties of the SF-12 (Hebrew version) in a primary care population in Israel. Medical Care, 40(10), 918–928. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=12395025.
Andrade, T. L., Camelier, A. A., Rosa, F. W., Santos, M. P., Jezler, S., & Pereira e Silva, J. L. (2007). Applicability of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey in patients with progressive systemic sclerosis. Journal of Brasilian Pneumology, 33(4), 414–422. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=17982533.
Andrews, G. (2002). A brief integer scorer for the SF-12: validity of the brief scorer in Australian community and clinic settings. Aust N Z J Public Health, 26(6), 508–510. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=12530792.
Bentur, N., & King, Y. (2010). The challenge of validating SF-12 for its use with community-dwelling elderly in Israel. Quality of Life Research, 19(1), 91–95. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=20012210.
Burdine, J. N., Felix, M. R., Abel, A. L., Wiltraut, C. J., & Musselman, Y. J. (2000). The SF-12 as a population health measure: an exploratory examination of potential for application. Health Services Research, 35(4), 885–904. Retrieved from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1089158&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract.
Fleishman, J. A., Selim, A. J., & Kazis, L. E. (2009). Deriving SF-12v2 physical and mental health summary scores: a comparison of different scoring algorithms. Quality of Life Research, 19(2), 231–241. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=20094805.
Gandek, B., Ware, J. E., Aaronson, N. K., Apolone, G., Bjorner, J. B., Brazier, J. E., Bullinger, M., et al. (1998). Cross-validation of item selection and scoring for the SF-12 Health Survey in nine countries: results from the IQOLA Project. International Quality of Life Assessment. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 51(11), 1171–1178. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=9817135.
Gandhi, S. K., Salmon, J. W., Zhao, S. Z., Lambert, B. L., Gore, P. R., & Conrad, K. (2001). Psychometric evaluation of the 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12) in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials. Clinical Therapeutics, 23(7), 1080–1098. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=11519772.
Globe, D. R., Levin, S., Chang, T. S., Mackenzie, P. J., & Azen, S. (2002). Validity of the SF-12 quality of life instrument in patients with retinal diseases. Ophthalmology, 109(10), 1793–1798. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=12359596.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th edn) (p. 800). Prentice Hall. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Multivariate-Data-Analysis-7th-Edition/dp/0138132631.
Jayasinghe, U. W., Proudfoot, J., Barton, C. A., Amoroso, C., Holton, C., Davies, G. P., et al. (2009). Quality of life of Australian chronically-ill adults: patient and practice characteristics matter. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 7, 50. doi:10.1186/1477-7525-7-50.
Jenkinson, C., Chandola, T., Coulter, A., & Bruster, S. (2001). An assessment of the construct validity of the SF-12 summary scores across ethnic groups. Journal of Public Health, 23(3), 187–194. doi:10.1093/pubmed/23.3.187.
Kontodimopoulos, N., Pappa, E., Niakas, D., & Tountas, Y. (2007). Validity of SF-12 summary scores in a Greek general population. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 5, 55. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=17900374.
Kontodimopoulos, N., Pappa, E., Niakas, D., Yfantopoulos, J., Dimitrakaki, C., & Tountas, Y. (2008). Validity of the EuroQoL (EQ-5D) instrument in a Greek general population. Value Health, 11(7), 1162–1169. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=18489492.
Lam, C. L. K., Tse, E. Y. Y., & Gandek, B. (2005). Is the standard SF-12 Health Survey valid and equivalent for a Chinese population? Quality of Life Research, 14(2), 539–547. doi:10.1007/s11136-004-0704-3.
Loge, J. H., & Kaasa, S. (1998). Short form 36 (SF-36) health survey: normative data from the general Norwegian population. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 26(4), 250–258. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=9868748.
Mols, F., Pelle, A. J., & Kupper, N. (2009). Normative data of the SF-12 health survey with validation using postmyocardial infarction patients in the Dutch population. Quality of Life Research, 18(4), 403–414. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=19242822.
Montazeri, A., Goshtasebi, A., Vahdaninia, M., & Gandek, B. (2005). The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36): translation and validation study of the Iranian version. Quality of Life Research, 14(3), 875–882. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=16022079.
Montazeri, A., Vahdaninia, M., Mousavi, S. J., & Omidvari, S. (2009). The Iranian version of 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12): factor structure, internal consistency and construct validity. BMC Public Health, 9, 341. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=19758427.
Muller-Nordhorn, J., Roll, S., & Willich, S. N. (2004). Comparison of the short form (SF)-12 health status instrument with the SF-36 in patients with coronary heart disease. Heart, 90(5), 523–527. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=15084550.
Nunnally, J., & Bernstein, I. (1994). Psychometric Theory (p. 752). McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Psychometric-Theory-Jum-Nunnally/dp/007047849X.
Okonkwo, O. C., Roth, D. L., Pulley, L., & Howard, G. (2010). Confirmatory factor analysis of the validity of the SF-12 for persons with and without a history of stroke. Quality of Life Research, 19(9), 1323–1331. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=20567914.
Pezzilli, R., Morselli-Labate, A. M., Frulloni, L., Cavestro, G. M., Ferri, B., Comparato, G., Gullo, L., et al. (2006). The quality of life in patients with chronic pancreatitis evaluated using the SF-12 questionnaire: a comparative study with the SF-36 questionnaire. Digestive and Liver Disease, 38(2), 109–115. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=16243011.
Salyers, M. P., Bosworth, H. B., Swanson, J. W., Lamb-Pagone, J., & Osher, F. C. (2000). Reliability and validity of the SF-12 health survey among people with severe mental illness. Medical Care, 38(11), 1141–1150. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=11078054.
Sanderson, K., & Andrews, G. (2002). The SF-12 in the Australian population: cross-validation of item selection. Australian And New Zealand Journal Of Public Health, 26(4), 343–345. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=12233955.
Ware Jr., J., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. D. (1996). A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Medical Care, 34(3), 220–233. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=8628042.
Wee, C. C., Davis, R. B., & Hamel, M. B. (2008). Comparing the SF-12 and SF-36 health status questionnaires in patients with and without obesity. Health and quality of life outcomes, 6(1), 11. doi:10.1186/1477-7525-6-11.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Christensen, L.N., Ehlers, L., Larsen, F.B. et al. Validation of the 12 Item Short form Health Survey in a Sample from Region Central Jutland. Soc Indic Res 114, 513–521 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0159-9
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0159-9