Psychometrics of the chronic liver disease questionnaire for Southern Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

AIM: To test the psychometric properties of a Chinese [(Hong Kong) HK] translation of the chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ).METHODS: A Chinese (HK) translation of the CLDQ was developed by iterative translation and cognitive debriefing. It was then administered to 72 uncomplicated and 78 complicated chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Hong Kong together with a structured questionnaire on service utilization, and the Chinese (HK) SF36Health Survey Version 2 (SF36v2).RESULTS: Scaling success was ≥ 80% for all but three items. A new factor assessing sleep was found and items of two (Fatigue and Systemic Symptoms) subscales tended to load on the same factor. Internal consistency and testretestreliabilities ranged from 0.580.90fordifferent subscales. Construct validity was confirmed by the expected correlations between the SF36v2 Health Survey and CLDQ scores. Mean scores of CLDQ were significantly lower in complicated compared with uncomplicated CHB, supporting sensitivity in detecting differences between groups.CONCLUSION: The Chinese (HK) CLDQ is valid,reliable and sensitive for patients with CHB. Some modifications to the scaling structure might further improve its psychometric properties.