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Japanese version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index: validity and reliability in patients with acne
Natsuko Takahashi1, Yoshimi Suzukamo, Motonobu Nakamura
1Institute for Health Outcomes and Process Evaluation Research, Tokyo, Japan. n-takahashi@jcqhc.or.jp
Background:
Patient-reported quality of life is strongly affected by some dermatologic conditions. We developed a Japanese version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI-J) and used psychometric methods to examine its validity and reliability.
Methods:
The Japanese version of the DLQI was created from the original (English) version, using a standard method. The DLQI-J was then completed by 197 people, to examine its validity and reliability. Some participants completed the DLQI-J a second time, 3 days later, to examine the reproducibility of their responses. In addition to the DLQI-J, the participants completed parts of the SF-36 and gave data on their demographic and clinical characteristics. Their physicians provided information on the location and clinical severity of the skin disease.
Results:
The participants reported no difficulties in answering the DLQI-J items. Their mean age was 24.8 years, 77.2% were female, and 78.7% had acne vulgaris. The mean score of DLQI was 3.99(SD: 3.99). The responses were found to be reproducible and stable. Results of principal-component and factor analysis suggested that this scale measured one construct. The correlations of DLQI-J scores with sex or age were very poor, but those with SF-36 scores and with clinical severity were high.
Conclusion:
The DLQI-J provides valid and reliable data despite having only a small number of items.
