The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale in type 1 diabetes: feasibility, reliability, and validity

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Health Outcomes Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) is a modular instrument for assessing health-related quality of life in children.
• The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale measures fatigue in pediatric patients via child self-report and parent proxy-report.
• Type 1 diabetes significantly impacts children's quality of life, with fatigue being a common symptom.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes.
• To establish the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale as a dependable tool for measuring fatigue in this population.

Main Methods:

• Administered the 18-item PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (General Fatigue, Sleep/Rest Fatigue, Cognitive Fatigue domains) and PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales.
• Collected data from 83 pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes and 84 parents.

Main Results:

• The scale showed minimal missing responses (0.3% child, 0.3% parent).
• Achieved excellent reliability (alpha=0.92 child, 0.94 parent) for the Total Fatigue Scale score.
• Demonstrated construct validity through significant correlations with PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales and distinguished between diabetic children and healthy controls.
• Fatigue levels in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes were comparable to those in pediatric patients with cancer on treatment.

Conclusions:

• The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale exhibits robust measurement properties for use in type 1 diabetes.
• This scale can be employed for the standardized evaluation of fatigue in pediatric patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.