Hjermstad M J, Fayers P M, Bjordal K, Kaasa S
Norwegian Cancer Society/Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo.
J Clin Oncol. 1998 Mar;16(3):1188-96. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1998.16.3.1188.
To obtain reference data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for the functional and symptom scales and single items of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30 [+ 3]) in a representative sample of the Norwegian general population.
A randomly selected sample of 3,000 people from the Norwegian population, aged 18 to 93 years, who represent geographic diversity, took part in this postal survey. The EORTC QLQ-C30 (+ 3) and a questionnaire about demographic data and health were sent by mail. A new questionnaire package was sent as a reminder after 3 weeks.
The survey yielded a high response rate with 1,965 of 2,892 eligible persons responding (68%). There was a low amount of missing data (1.8%). Internal consistency was highly satisfactory and yielded Cronbach's alpha coefficients greater than 0.70 for all but two functional scales and one symptom scale. The sensitivity of the questionnaire was shown by the excellent discrimination between age and sex groups. Clinical validity was shown by the distinct differences according to age and sociodemographic characteristics. Women reported lower functional status and global quality of life (mean scale scores from 71.7 to 91.0) than men (mean scale scores from 75.4 to 94.4), and also more symptoms and problems. This was remarkably consistent across age groups, as was a decline in functional status with an increase in age.
This is the first study that presented reference data from the EORTC QLQ-C30 (+ 3) in a sample from a general population and seems to provide valid measures of HRQOL within different age groups. The results may serve as a guideline for clinicians when interpreting HRQOL in their own groups of patients, and contributes to a better understanding of the significance of mean scores and their clinical relevance.
在挪威普通人群的代表性样本中，获取欧洲癌症研究与治疗组织核心生活质量问卷（EORTC QLQ-C30 [+ 3]）功能量表、症状量表及单个项目的健康相关生活质量（HRQOL）参考数据。
从挪威人群中随机抽取3000人，年龄在18至93岁之间，代表地理多样性，参与此次邮寄调查。通过邮件发送EORTC QLQ-C30（+ 3）以及一份关于人口统计学数据和健康状况的问卷。3周后发送新的问卷包作为提醒。
该调查获得了较高的回复率，2892名符合条件的人中，1965人回复（68%）。缺失数据量较低（1.8%）。内部一致性非常令人满意，除两个功能量表和一个症状量表外，所有量表的克朗巴哈系数均大于0.70。问卷的敏感性体现在年龄和性别组之间的出色区分上。临床有效性体现在根据年龄和社会人口学特征存在明显差异。女性报告的功能状态和总体生活质量（平均量表得分从71.7至91.0）低于男性（平均量表得分从75.4至94.4），症状和问题也更多。这在各年龄组中非常一致，功能状态也随着年龄增长而下降。
这是第一项在普通人群样本中呈现EORTC QLQ-C30（+ 3）参考数据的研究，似乎为不同年龄组的HRQOL提供了有效的测量方法。这些结果可为临床医生在解读自己患者群体的HRQOL时提供指导，并有助于更好地理解平均分的意义及其临床相关性。
