Validation Assessment of the Chinese (Taiwan) Version of the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index for Patients with Symptomatic Gallstone Disease

Abstract

Symptomatic gallstone is one of the most common diseases in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to develop a Mandarin Chinese outcomes measure for the assessment on quality of life among gallstone patients. The Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) is a valid, disease-specific measure for the evaluation of health status and treatment effectiveness for adults with chronic gastrointestinal condition. The GIQLI was translated into Mandarin Chinese using a parallel model. The Chinese (Taiwan) version of the GIQLI (CGIQLI) was administered to 102 patients with symptomatic gallstone disease in a prospective manner; the CGIQLI then was validated according to established criteria for reliability, validity, and longitudinal sensitivity. The CGIQLI demonstrates good test-retest reliability (r = 0.92, P = 0.001) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92). The CGIQLI significantly correlates with the Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan) version of the generic 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). The standardized response mean for the CGIQLI total score is 0.96, indicating excellent sensitivity to clinical change in the study group. This validation study demonstrated that the performance characteristics of the CGIQLI are equivalent to the English version, the GIQLI. This study demonstrates that the CGIQLI is a valid tool to evaluate adults with chronic gastrointestinal problems among the Chinese-speaking population.