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 aim of this study was 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 a reliable and valid tool to
assess the health related quality of life among local population. It can
be used to objectively assess the HQoL of Malaysian women with PCOS and
evaluate their responsiveness to treatment modalities.
KEYWORDS : Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), PCOS, Polycystic
Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire(PCOSQ), PCOSQ, Malay version PCOSQ,
Mal-PCOSQ, health related quality of life, HQoL.