Initial Validation of the Eosinophilic Gastritis and Gastroenteritis Quality of Life Scale

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs) are chronic immune-mediated conditions characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms and gut eosinophilia. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important metric to understand patient outcomes; the only disease-specific measure of HRQoL exists for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) patients. Patients with non-EoE EGIDs experience unique symptoms and treatment options and disease burden of these rare disorders is under-recognized and considered significant. We aim to validate a new measure of HRQoL specific for adults with non-EoE EGIDs.

The Eosinophilic Gastritis and Gastroenteritis Quality of Life Scale (EGGE-QOL) is 20-items scale developed from patient qualitative interviews assessing HRQoL over the past month. Adult patients were recruited from an academic setting and patient advocacy groups to complete an online questionnaire. Psychometric assessment of the EGGE-QOL included reliability measures (internal consistency, split-half reliability), criterion validity (exploratory factor analysis), and concurrent validity (correlations with EGID symptoms, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbance).

Forty-one participants completed the study. The EGGE-QOL had excellent reliability (>0.90). Exploratory factor analysis identified a single structure with 3 possible items for removal. Concurrent validity was supported by moderate to large correlations with psychological symptoms, fatigue and sleep, and symptom severity, frequency, and duration. The most important symptom that impacts non-EoE EGID HRQoL may be frequent diarrhea.

The EGGE-QOL is a reliable and valid measure of HRQoL for adults with non-EoE EGIDs, representing an important step in understanding the experiences of these patients and assessing how these conditions may impact daily function. Additional studies are necessary to confirm these findings in larger, diverse cohorts.