The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Health-Related Quality-of-Life Questionnaire: Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The health related quality-of-life (HRQoL) among females with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is reduced due to emotional, psychosocial, infertility, marital, and hirsutism problems.

The current study aimed at analyzing exploratory and confirmatory factor structures of HRQoL questionnaire for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOSQ-50) in females with PCOS in order to verify the validity of the developed instrument.

The current cross validation study was conducted on females with PCOS using the PCOSQ-50. The PCOSQ-50 was developed based on a qualitative study. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to examine the factor structure of PCOSQ-50. After the CFA, the reliability of the new instrument was also evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

Totally, 350 females with PCOS were entered into the study. The mean age of the subjects was 26.9 ± 5.1 years. Based on the results of CFA, data were fit to the 43-item model: the comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.91; the normal fit index (NFI) = 0.90; the goodness of fit index (GFI) = 0.60; incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.91; the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.09; standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.09 and the relative chi-square (x²/df) = 2.20, P < 0.05. The intraclass correlation coefficient ranged 0.91 to 0.94 indicating a satisfactory finding.

The 43-item PCOSQ showed appropriate validity and reliability and its psychometric quality was superior to that of the original version. However, further longitudinal studies should be conducted to evaluate its predictive efficacy.