Preliminary Validation of the Adolescent Psoriasis Quality of Life Instrument

The Adolescent Psoriasis Quality of Life (APso-QOL) instrument represents the first age-appropriate and disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instrument for use in adolescents with psoriasis, according to study data published in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Researchers used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to develop and establish the preliminary validity of the APso-QOL instrument. They gathered qualitative data concerning HRQOL in adolescents with psoriasis from 18 adolescents (aged 12-17 years), 14 parents, and 4 healthcare professionals and combined them with cognitive interview testing (n=12) to result in a 41-item draft version. After item reduction, the final APso-QOL was a 17-item instrument consisting of 2 subscales showing good fit to their respective Rasch models: Psychosocial Impact (APso-PI; 12 items) and the impact of Physical Symptoms and Treatment (APso-PST; 5 items; n=50). Using state-of-the-art methods, the researchers found the APso-QOL to be psychometrically sound and good preliminary support for construct validity. In addition, they found the test-retest reliability of this instrument to be good. Because of their nonuniform nature, the 2 subscales should ideally be scored separately, the team noted; however using a combined summary score may be justified for the APso-QOL, similar to other instruments of comparable structure.

The investigators concluded that, “The APso-QOL is intended for use in daily clinical practice to support dermatologists and other health care professionals in providing optimal care for adolescents with psoriasis.”

Disclosure: Several study authors declared affiliations with the pharmaceutical industry. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.

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References

Randa H, Khoury LR, Grønborg TK, Lomholt JJ, Skov L, Zachariae R. Development and preliminary validation of the Adolescent Psoriasis Quality of Life instrument (APso-QOL): a disease-specific measure of quality of life in adolescents with psoriasis [published online November 19, 2019]. Br J Dermatol. doi:10.1111/bjd.18719