[Utilization of Quality-of-life assessment Questionnaires for Intermittent Exotropia in China]

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Quality of Life Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Intermittent exotropia (IXT) significantly impacts the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of affected children and their families.
• Accurate assessment tools are crucial for understanding and managing the psychosocial and functional implications of IXT.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Quality-of-life assessment Questionnaires for Intermittent Exotropia (CIXTQ).
• To establish CIXTQ as a dependable instrument for measuring HRQoL in Chinese pediatric IXT populations.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving translation and adaptation of the original English IXTQ into Chinese (CIXTQ).
• CIXTQ includes child, proxy, and parent versions, assessing various HRQoL domains.
• Reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) and validity (content, construct, discriminant) were assessed using Cronbach's α, split-half, Kappa, S-CVI/Ave, PCA, and t-tests.

Main Results:

• CIXTQ demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α: 0.804–0.963) and acceptable split-half reliability (>0.7 for most scales).
• Test-retest reliability ranged from 0.569 to 0.944, indicating stability over time.
• High scale-level content validity (S-CVI/Ave: 0.966–0.988) and construct validity confirmed by PCA.
• Significantly lower HRQoL scores were reported by IXT children and their parents compared to controls (P<0.001).

Conclusions:

• The Chinese version of the Quality-of-life assessment Questionnaires for Intermittent Exotropia (CIXTQ) is a reliable and valid tool.
• CIXTQ effectively measures the impact of IXT on the HRQoL of Chinese children and their parents.