THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF MALAY VERSION OF POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN
SYNDROME HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE (MAL-PCOSQ)
Abstract
ABSTRACT Background: The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome health related
Questionnaire (PCOSQ) is a reliable instrument for measuring the health
related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with polycystic ovary
syndrome(PCOS). The study is aimed to develop a Malay version of PCOSQ
(Mal-PCOSQ) to evaluate the HRQoL of Malaysian women with PCOS and to
test its reliability and validity. Methods: Participants were women who
were diagnosed with PCOS attending the gynaecology clinic. Reliability
was determined by internal consistency using Cronbach’s coefficient
alpha and test-retest reliability using intra-class correlation
coefficient. Validity was assessed through convergent and discriminant
validity. Examining the correlation between similar content on the
Mal-PCOSQ and the Short Form 36 version 2 (SF 36v2) assessed convergent
validity. Whereas the discriminant validity was assessed using the known
groups comparison. Results: Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was over 0.70
for total scale and over 0.60 for each subscale. Known groups comparison
support its discriminant validity whereby the Mal-PCOSQ differentiated
well between sub-groups of women who differ in PCOS specific symptoms.
Convergent validity was consistent with a good positive correlation
between related subscales of the two instruments. Women with PCOS in
Malaysia scored lowest for weight (3.74) and infertility (3.41) domains
indicating worse health in these domains. Body hair (5.42) was the least
troublesome for the local population. Conclusion: The Mal-PCOSQ is
reliable and valid tool in assessing the health related quality of life
and can be used to objectively assess the HQoL of Malaysian women with
PCOS and evaluate their responsiveness to treatment.