Anaphylaxis Quality of Life Scale for adults: the validation on the Italian allergic patients

Background. The aim of this study is to translate and validate the Italian Version of the Anaphylaxis Quality of Life Scale for Adults (A-QoL-Adults), made up of the three subscales Social impact (SQoL), Emotional impact (EQol) and Limitations on Life (LoL) to measure the impact of the risk of anaphylaxis from any cause on patients' quality of life (QoL). Methods. The study involves 30 patients with a history of anaphylaxis who were prescribed epinephrine self-injectable, who compiled the Italian translation of A-QoL-Adults, World Health Organization Quality of life (WHOQoL)-Brief edition, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales (HADS-A, HADS-D) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaires to validate the Italian version. Results. The A-QoL-Adults administered in the Italian version had good internal structural validity and internal consistency reliability: Cronbach alpha levels of 0.972 for AQoL, 0.942 for SQoL, 0.939 for EQoL and 0.910 for LoL, and a strong correlation with other generic QoL and psychological scales. A large significant correlation (p<0.005) was found with PSS (r=0,722), HADS-A (r=0.685) and Environmental QoL (r=-0.528). A medium significant correlation (p<0.05) was found with HADS-D (r=0.455), Physical QoL (r=-0.376) and Psychological QoL (r=-0.425). Anxiety, depression, and stress levels in participants were accurately predicted by anaphylaxis-related QoL scores (p<0.001). Conclusions. The Italian version of A-QoL-Adults is a trusted instrument for evaluating the QoL of adults with anaphylaxis at any trigger. It may be used in research and clinical practice. The Italian version values match the original version and accurately predict anxiety, depression, and stress levels..