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Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 1/2013

Open Access 01-12-2013 | Research

Development and evaluation of a crosswalk between the SF-36 physical functioning scale and Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index in rheumatoid arthritis

Authors: Peter M ten Klooster, Martijn AH Oude Voshaar, Barbara Gandek, Matthias Rose, Jakob B Bjorner, Erik Taal, Cees AW Glas, Piet LCM van Riel, Mart AFJ van de Laar

Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes | Issue 1/2013

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Abstract

Background

The SF-36 physical functioning scale (PF-10) and the Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index (HAQ-DI) are the most frequently used instruments for measuring self-reported physical function in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The objective of this study was to develop a crosswalk between scores on the PF-10 and HAQ-DI in RA.

Methods

Item response theory (IRT) methods were used to co-calibrate both scales using data from 1791 RA patients. The appropriateness of a Rasch-based crosswalk was evaluated by comparing it with crosswalks based on a two-parameter and a multi-dimensional IRT model. The accuracy of the final crosswalk was cross-validated using baseline (n = 532) and 6-month follow-up (n = 276) data from an independent cohort of early RA patients.

Results

The PF-10 and HAQ-DI adequately fit a unidimensional Rasch model. Both scales measured a wide range of functioning, although the HAQ-DI tended to better target lower levels of functioning. The Rasch-based crosswalk performed similarly to crosswalks based on the two-parameter and multidimensional IRT models. Agreement between predicted and observed scale scores in the cross-validation sample was acceptable for group-level comparisons. The longitudinal validity in discriminating between disease response states was similar between observed and predicted scores.

Conclusion

The crosswalk developed in this study allows for converting scores from one scale to the other and can be used for group-level analyses in patients with RA.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Development and evaluation of a crosswalk between the SF-36 physical functioning scale and Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors
Peter M ten Klooster
Martijn AH Oude Voshaar
Barbara Gandek
Matthias Rose
Jakob B Bjorner
Erik Taal
Cees AW Glas
Piet LCM van Riel
Mart AFJ van de Laar
Publication date
01-12-2013
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes / Issue 1/2013
Electronic ISSN: 1477-7525
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-11-199

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