Evaluation of psychometric properties of the Uterine Fibroids Symptoms and Health-related Quality of Life (UFSQOL) questionnaire: The translated Bengali version

Abstract

Background: The Uterine Fibroids Symptom and Health-related Quality of Life (UFSQOL) is a validated questionnaire assessing symptom severity and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) in patients with uterine fibroids. The English version contains 37 items measuring 7 components—symptom severity, concern, activities, energy/mood, control, self-consciousness, and sexual function. To date, no validated Bengali version of the questionnaire is available. We aimed to translate the UFSQOL into Bengali and validate the same. Methods: The UFSQOL-Bengali version (UFSQOL-B) was produced by standardized forward-backward translations. A cross-sectional, multi-center, observational study was conducted to gather responses by convenience sampling. Reliability was tested using internal consistency and test-retest reliability analyses, while construct validity by exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 120) using principal component analysis (PCA; varimax rotation). Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 120) was performed to verify the a priori scales by the goodness-of-fit model. Results: Both the internal consistency (Cronbach's α) and the intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficient were 0.92. All the items loaded above the pre-specified value of 0.4. The factor analyses using varimax identified 10 components (activities, energy and control, concern about clothing, mood, sexual function, self-consciousness, associated symptoms, heavy bleeding, cycle disturbance, and concern about flooding); explaining 70.2% of the variation. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) was 0.801 and Bartlett's test of sphericity was P < 0.001. The goodness-of-fit of CFA model was mediocre. Therefore, the final version consisted of 37 items, framed within 10 components. Conclusion: The UFSQOL-B was a valid and reliable questionnaire but measured different dimensions from the English version.