Health-related quality of life questionnaires used in primary biliary cholangitis: a systematic review

The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the suitability of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires in patients with primary biliary cholangitis.

Relevant studies were compiled from a search of five electronic databases. The properties under investigation included the validity of the translated questionnaires, floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency and test-retest reliability.

Forty-four studies were included, from which fifteen HRQOL questionnaires were identified. The most frequently used instruments were the PBC-40 (n = 22), the SF-36 (n = 19), the PBC-27 (n = 4), the CLDQ (n = 3) and the NIDDK-QA (n = 2). The remaining instruments were used only once. Twenty-six studies used a translated HRQOL questionnaire, but only six reported or referenced validating the translated questionnaire.

PBC-specific HRQOL questionnaires generally have good psychometric properties. However, many studies have directly applied HRQOL tools without verifying their validity and reliability in PBC patients. There was no clear indication that one HRQOL tool was superior to another, although the PBC-40 is the most well-studied. Thus, more robust psychometric studies are needed to investigate the measurement properties of HRQOL questionnaires.