Psychometric validation of the Japanese version of Alcohol Quality of Life Scale (AQoLS-Japan) in the treatment of patients with alcohol use disorder

Susumu Higuchi,Kristin Hui Xian Tan,Yoshiya Moriguchi

doi:10.1007/s11136-019-02310-w

Susumu Higuchi, Kristin Hui Xian Tan + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02310-w

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Journal: Quality of Life Research	Publication Date: Oct 4, 2019
Citations: 7	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center

Abstract

PurposeThe Alcohol Quality of Life Scale (AQoLS) is accepted as a useful measure in assessing impact of alcohol use disorders (AUD) on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) in Western cultures. We aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the AQoLS (AQoLS-Japan).MethodsThis was a 3-month, observational cohort study in patients undergoing routine treatment for AUD in Japan. HR-QoL was assessed using the AQoLS-Japan (34 items, 7 dimensions). Scale psychometrics were analyzed using correlative techniques.ResultsData from 132 patients were analyzed. Inter-item and item-scale correlations for the AQoLS-Japan scale were moderate to strong. Confirmatory factor analysis results supported the AQoLS-Japan structure but there was evidence of interdependency among some items and factors. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for internal consistency ranged from 0.73 to 0.97, and intraclass correlation coefficients for scores between test (baseline) and retest (2 weeks) ranged from 0.65 to 0.82. Convergent and divergent validity and known-groups validity were supported. Evaluation of within-group change demonstrated that the AQoLS-Japan total and domains consistently demonstrated statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001 in all cases) in HR-QoL over time. Estimates for minimal clinically important difference on the AQoLS-Japan total score ranged from 13.2 to 18.2 for group-level change and from 2.4 to 15.7 for a group-level difference.ConclusionsThe AQoLS-Japan is a reliable and valid measure of HR-QoL that is able to demonstrate benefits associated with the routine treatment of AUD in Japan.

Highlights

Alcohol use disorders (AUD), including alcohol abuse and dependence, pose a great health, social and economic burden to affected individuals, their families, and society
We present here the first assessment of the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the Alcohol Quality of Life Scale (AQoLS-Japan) in Japanese patients with an AUD
Data from 132 of the 133 patients who completed all study visits were used for psychometric validation as one patient did not complete the AQoLS-Japan at Month-3 visit

Summary

Introduction

Alcohol use disorders (AUD), including alcohol abuse and dependence, pose a great health, social and economic burden to affected individuals, their families, and society. Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) is acknowledged as critical domain to consider when assessing the effectiveness of treatment for AUDs and is often included as a secondary endpoint in clinical trials [7, 8]. A 2012 systematic review of AUD studies using generic HR-QoL scales found that they were not well suited to showing treatment effects in subjects with AUD [9]. The Alcohol Quality of Life Scale (AQoLS) was developed as the first AUD-specific measure of HR-QoL for increased sensitivity in showing the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions from the patient’s perspective [10]

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