Measuring the quality of life of women with fibromyalgia: A Hebrew version of the quality of life scale

Objectives: To validate a translated version of the Quality of Life Scale [QOLS] to be used by Hebrew speaking populations. Methods: The QOLS was translated into Hebrew and its reliability and validity were studied. The Hebrew version [QOLS-H] was administered to 100 women with Fibromyalgia [FM] along with the Hebrew version Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire [FIQ-H]. All the subjects were asked about the presence and severity [Visual Analog Scale [VAS]I of FM symptoms [pain, fatigue, anxiety, etc.]; a count of 18 tender points was conducted by thumb palpation and tenderness thresholds were assessed by dolorimetry. Test-retest reliability was assessed using Pearson correlations. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha coefficient of reliability. Construct validity was tested by correlating the QOLS-H items with measures of FM symptom severity, count of tender points, tenderness threshold and items of FIQ. Results: The test-retest reliability was R = 0.95, and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.92 at time I, and 0.90 at time 2. Significant moderate to high correlations were obtained between QOLS-H items and FIQ-H items, severity symptoms, point count and tenderness threshold. A summary score of the 16 QOL-H items was computed and it was found to be highly correlated with all symptoms such as pain [R -0.50], fatigue [R -0.54], anxiety [R -0.64]; as well as with point count [R -0.37], tenderness threshold IR 0.50], and physical functioning as measured by 10 items from the FIQ-H [R = -0.62]. Conclusion: The QOLS-H is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the quality of life in Israeli women with FM.