Validity of the Spanish version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire for evaluating quality of life in asthma children

BACKGROUND: TO analyze the clinical utility of the quality of life questionnaire for asthmatic children (PAQLQ) and to validate it for use in clinical practice. PATIENTS AND METHOD: 1,012 children between 6 and 14 years of age, with a diagnosis of mild to moderate asthma attending 48 Spanish hospitals were included in the study. The patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded and all patients were administered the PAQLQ and EQ-5D questionnaires on two occasions: at the baseline visit and at 2-3 months from baseline in patients with uncontrolled asthma (group A) and at baseline and 15 days from baseline in patients with controlled asthma (group a). The feasibility, validity, reliability and sensitivity to change of the PAQLQ were assessed. RESULTS: The PAQLQ proved to be feasible for use in children over 7 years of age with mild or moderate asthma, The PAQLQ did not show a statistically significant relationship with socio-demographic variables, nor with the majority of clinical variables, with the exception of asthma severity, number of exacerbations, symptoms and use of on- demand short-term beta (2) agonist drugs. Correlations between PAQLQ and EQ-5D dimensions were strongest between dimensions measuring similar attributes. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the PAQLQ ranged from 0.88 for the limitations in activities dimension to 0.96 for the overall score. The intraclass correlation coefficient for PAQLQ scores in group B ranged from 0.71 (limitation of activities) to 0.83 (overall score). The effect size between both visits ranged from 0.49 to 0.69. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the PAQLQ proved to be valid for use in children with mild to moderate asthma.