The factor analysis of health related quality of life among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOSQ-50)

Background: More studies indicate diminished health related quality of life (HRQoL) among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) due to emotional, psycho-social, infertility, marital and hirsutism problems. The purpose of this study was to Exploratory and Confirmatory factor structure of HRQoL in women with PCOS (PCOSQ-50). In addition, internal consistency and test–retest analyses were used to assess the reliability of the instrument.Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the construct validity of the PCOSQ-50. First, the development of HRQoL in women with PCOS was designed based on qualitative research. The details of this phase have been previously published. After that by convenience sampling method 350 women with PCOS attending three clinics (gynecologic, endocrinology, and dermatology) at two teaching hospitals, affiliated to the Babol University of Medical Sciences, were selected. After explaining the objectives of the study, written informed consent was obtained from each participant and they were requested to complete the questionnaires. The Kaiser-Meyer Olkin test was used to assess the sampling adequacy, a cutoff point of 0.40 was considered as the minimum load factor required in maintaining each item of the factor being extracted. The Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis was done by SPSS software version 18 and LISLER software version 8.8 respectively. Results: The principal component analysis indicated a six -factor structure for the questionnaire (psychosocial and emotional, self-body image, fertility, sexual function, obesity and menstrual disorder and hirsutism) that jointly accounted for 50.83 % of variances observed. Reliability of questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for six factor showed that the range between 0.87 -0.95 and for whole questionnaire 0.92. The 43-item model was supported by the confirmatory factory analysis. Compared to the 50-item model, the 43-item model showed a marked improvement on several incremental fit indices and achieved a more parsimonious model fit. The fit indexes were as follows: RMSEA = 0.09, NFI = 0.90, CFI = 0.91, IFI = 0.91, GFI = 0.60 and SRMR = 0.09. Conclusion: The 43-item PCOSQ is psychometrically superior to the original. However, its predictive efficacy needs to be examined in longitudinal studies.

Keywords:

Polycystic ovary syndrome , Quality of life , Factor analysis , Reliability