Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Quality of Life questionnaire into Arabic

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease which affects all aspects of quality of life (QoL) of the patients. Comprehensive patient assessment should include QoL measures in addition to the objective clinical measures of the disease. There is no specific Arabic instrument for assessment of QoL of SLE patients. The objective of this study was to translate and cross culturally adapt the SLEQOL questionnaire into Arabic and test its reliability and validity. The SLEQOL questionnaire was translated into Arabic based on the Guidelines for Translation and Cross-cultural Adaptation into other languages. Reliability was assessed by interviewing patients three times: two interviews on the same day by different interviewers and the third interview 14 days later by one of the first interviewers. Validity was assessed by correlating SLEQOL scores of 91 patients with 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores and clinical parameters of the patients. We found that the Arabic version of SLEQOL has a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.936, interobserver and intraobserver correlation coefficients of 0.809 and 0.886 respectively. Strong correlations were also found between SLEQOL scores and SF-36 Physical and Mental Component summaries. In conclusion, the Arabic version of SLEQOL is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring QoL of Egyptian SLE patients.