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Quality of life in Iranian patients with bipolar disorder: a psychometric study of the Persian Brief Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD)

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Abstract

Purpose

To assess the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Persian Brief Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD) in Iranian patients with bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods

After translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Brief QoL.BD, we administered the questionnaire to 184 patients diagnosed with BD. To determine factor structure, we performed both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. To investigate the reliability, we assessed internal consistency, reproducibility and agreement. Construct validity was assessed by calculating correlations between the Brief QoL.BD and the Short Form-36 (SF-36), Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF). We also investigated gender differences in interpretations of QoL.BD items.

Results

The results obtained from reliability analysis confirmed internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha was 0.87 and 0.89 for two assessments) and reproducibility and agreement (the intraclass correlation coefficient ranged between 0.74 and 0.94). Validity analyses showed that the items loaded on a single-factor structure. The inter-item correlations varied from 0.31 to 0.68. Significantly lower scores on the Brief QoL.BD were observed in people diagnosed with BD I compared to BD II. Significant correlations were observed between the Brief QoL.BD and SF-36 summary measures, HAMD, YMRS, Q-LES-Q-SF and PANAS subscales. Items in the Brief QoL.BD were interpreted similarly by men and women.

Conclusions

The Brief Persian QoL.BD is a psychometrically sound measure with acceptable validity and reliability and provides a rapid assessment tool for measuring QoL in patients with BD.

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Funding

This study was funded by Iran’s National Elites Foundation (INEF) (Grant Number 15/72243).

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Correspondence to Amir H. Pakpour.

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Conflict of interest

The authors Linda Beckman, Amirhossein Modabbernia, Chung-Ying Lin, Mohammadhossein Yaghoubidoust, Bengt Fridlund, Erin E Michalak, Greg Murray and Amir H Pakpour declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Modabbernia, A., Yaghoubidoust, M., Lin, CY. et al. Quality of life in Iranian patients with bipolar disorder: a psychometric study of the Persian Brief Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD). Qual Life Res 25, 1835–1844 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1223-0

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