Validation of the Dutch translation of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ): a health-related quality of life questionnaire in inflammatory bowel disease.

Health-related quality of life assessment can benefit several groups involved with health care. The aim of our study was to assess construct validity, reliability, discriminant ability and sensitivity to change of the Dutch translation of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ), a disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaire. A group of 120 IBD patients completed the IBDQ and two Visual Analogue Scales concerning general well-being and bowel function twice. Fifty-two patients also completed the Short-Form 36 twice. Disease activity was assessed once. Correlations between the IBDQ scores and the global assessments were reasonably high and the IBDQ was shown to be discriminative. High intraclass correlation coefficients between both measurements of the IBDQ were observed in patients who reported no change in bowel complaints. In contrast, significant differences were found between both moments in patients who reported change. The Dutch IBDQ proved to be valid, discriminative and reliable.

Familial aggregation of inflammatory bowel disease: a population-based study in South Limburg, The Netherlands. The South Limburg IBD Study Group.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in first-degree relatives of IBD patients living in a well-defined area. METHODS: IBD patients known at the IBD Registration South Limburg as well as population controls were asked about the occurrence of IBD in their first-degree relatives. RESULTS: IBD was reported and confirmed in 16 (out of 1554) relatives by 11 (out of 245) patients. Prevalence of IBD was highest for siblings (1.5%) and children (1.3%), while only 0.2% of the parents were affected with IBD. Among relatives of the control subjects, IBD was observed in 0.8% (versus 4.5% in IBD patients), resulting in an odds ratio of 5.7 (95% CI: 2.0-16.7). CONCLUSIONS: The observed risk of IBD for first-degree relatives of IBD patients was higher than in controls. However, the risk in our population is lower than has been reported by other centres, possibly because of the population-based character of our study.