Psychometric Evaluation of the Bengali Short Form 12 Version 2 Health Survey in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Objectives

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), comprising Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, significantly affects health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Despite the widespread use of the Short Form 12 version 2 (SF-12v2) questionnaire to assess HRQOL, its validity and reliability in Bengali IBD populations remain unclear. Our study aimed to evaluate the ability of the Bengali SF-12v2 to predict HRQOL in individuals with IBD.

Methods

Through a cross-sectional survey, we evaluated the Bengali SF-12v2’s reliability and validity in 150 patients with IBD, with a mean age of 34 years, including 67 with Crohn’s disease and 83 with ulcerative colitis.

Results

A 2-factor model comprising physical and mental aspects was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The 2-factor model demonstrated adequate goodness-of-fit indices (chi-square 96.49 [df 51]; goodness-of-fit index 0.903; adjusted goodness-of-fit index 0.851; normed fit index 0.929; comparative fit index 0.965; Tucker-Lewis index 0.954; root mean square error of approximation 0.077 [90% CI 0.053-0.101]; and standard root mean square residual 0.04). All standardized estimates were statistically significant. Item-scale correlations ranged considerably from 0.87 to 1.00, surpassing alternative item-scale correlations. Bengali SF-12v2 scores effectively identified subgroups of IBD based on disease severity. Internal consistency reliability was deemed acceptable, with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.889 for the physical component summary and 0.904 for the mental component summary. Intraclass correlation coefficients exceeded 0.8 in all domains. A ceiling effect was observed only for bodily pain (41.3%).

Conclusions

The Bengali SF-12v2 was shown to have adequate psychometric validity in patients with IBD. The findings support the Bengali SF-12v2’s future usage among individuals with IBD.