ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of A Tool to Assess Quality of Life in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (ATAQ-IPF), and discuss the applicability of this tool among interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients. Methods 128 patients with ILD were selected from the respiratory department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and a convenient sampling method was adopted. Test-retest reliability cofficient, Cronbach αinternal consistency, content validity, criterion related validity were used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of ATAQ-IPF. Results Among first 15 recruited patients, the localized ATAQ-IPF had good test-retest reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficient(ICC) calculation was 0.95 (P<0.05). The evaluation of all 128 patients showed excellent internal consistency with the Cronbach α was 0.96,Cronbach α values of each dimension were 0.60-0.93. The scale level content validity index (S-CVI) was 0.80;The item level content validity index (I-CVI)were 0.78-1.00,which proved good validity. The score between the Chinese version of ATAQ-IPF and St. George Respiratory Questionnaire(SGRQ) showed a significant correlation (r=0.69, P<0.01). Criterion related validity was good. 128 patients were grouped according to the entity and the degree of dyspnea,evaluated the quality of life. There was a significant difference between idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and non-IPF patients(t=2.99, P < 0.01).Also the differences between different degrees of dyspnea were statistically significant(t=16.05, P<0.01). Conclusions The Chinese version of ATAQ-IPF retains good reliability and validity, and is qualified to assess the quality of life among ILD patients.