Development and validation of the Premenstrual Symptoms Impact Survey (PMSIS): a disease-specific quality of life assessment tool.

Objective: To develop and validate the Premenstrual Symptoms Impact Survey (PMSIS), a brief web-based instrument for evaluating the impact of premenstrual symptoms on health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Methods: An item bank of 68 questions was administered to a nationally representative sample of 971 women using the web, aged 18-45, who experienced regular menstrual cycles in the past 3 months, were not currently pregnant or breastfeeding, and were not being treated or taking medications for depression-related disorders in the last 2 years. Item reduction was performed using forward stepwise linear regression of an overall symptom severity score onto item scores.

Health-related quality of life of heart failure and coronary artery disease patients improved during participation in disease management programs: a longitudinal observational study.

The objective of the study was to examine the burden of coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and the HRQOL trajectory among participants in a disease management (DM) program characterized by personalized models of education, counseling, and supportive contact. In all, 2,590 CAD and 3,182 HF patients were assessed at baseline and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-enrollment. HRQOL was measured via a computerized dynamic test, whose core consisted of SF-8 items.

Interpreting score differences in the SF-36 Vitality scale: using clinical conditions and functional outcomes to define the minimally important difference.

Objective: To propose the minimally important difference (MID) for the SF-36 Vitality (VT) scale by evaluating the association of score differences with clinical conditions and functional outcomes.

Methods: Analyses were performed on data from the Medical Outcomes Study (n = 3445). The first analyses regressed VT scores (0-100 scale) on chronic conditions that cause fatigue in order to determine the impact of each condition on VT.

A psychometric comparison of three patient-based measures of asthma control.

Objective: Asthma is a multidimensional disease, characterized by changes in pulmonary function, transient and chronic symptoms, and effects on quality of life. In this study, we compared the psychometric properties and screening accuracy of three patient-based asthma control instruments including: the Asthma Control Test (ACT), a brief instrument developed to assess asthma control of patients in a clinical setting; the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ), an instrument developed for use in clinical research; and the 'Rules of Two', a tool that has been used in both settings.

Methods: Patients (N = 313) completed the ACT, ACQ, and Rules of Two during two asthma clinic visits 4-12 weeks apart.