Outcome measurement in functional somatic syndromes: SF-36 summary scores and some scales were not valid

Andreas Schroder*, Eva Oernboel, Rasmus W. Licht, Michael Sharpe, Per Fink

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Objective: This study aimed to test the validity of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) scales and summaries in patients with severe functional somatic syndromes (FSS), such as fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome.

Study Design and Setting: One hundred twenty patients with severe FSS enrolled in a randomized controlled trial filled in the SF-36 questionnaire. We tested for data quality, central scaling assumptions, and agreement with the conceptual model.

Results: Most SF-36 scales were found to be valid; however, three scales (role physical, role emotional, and general health) did not satisfy predefined criteria for construct validity, internal consistency, or targeting to the sample. The correlations between SF-36 scales differed considerably from those reported in the general population. As a consequence, the SF-36 summaries, physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS), did not accurately reflect their underlying scales and were negatively correlated (r = -0.46, 95% CI [-0.60 to -0.31]).

Conclusion: Although the SF-36 is a valuable instrument to assess perceived health in patients with severe FSS, there are problems with some of the scales and with the scoring procedure of the summaries. The SF-36 PCS may, therefore, not accurately measure the physical health status of these patients. Alternative summary measures are needed. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)30-41
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume65
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2012

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Quality of life
  • Outcome measurement
  • SF-36
  • Physical component summary
  • Validity
  • Functional somatic syndromes
  • QUALITY-OF-LIFE
  • CHRONIC-FATIGUE-SYNDROME
  • IRRITABLE-BOWEL-SYNDROME
  • PRIMARY-CARE PATIENTS
  • HEALTH SURVEY SF-36
  • SHORT-FORM
  • FIBROMYALGIA SYNDROME
  • SCALING ASSUMPTIONS
  • MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS
  • CONSTRUCT-VALIDITY

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