Cross-cultural validation of the Chinese version of the EmPHasis-10 questionnaire in connective tissue disease patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and its relationship with risk stratification.

Backgrounds: The EmPHasis-10 questionnaire is a disease-specific quality of life (QoL) measurement in patients with pulmonary hypertension. We report the results of cross-cultural validation of the Chinese version of the EmPHasis-10 and its relationship with risk stratification in patients with connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-PAH).

Methods: The Emphasis-10 was administered to 75 CTD-PAH patients along with the 36-item Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Survey (SF-36) and EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D). The diagnosis of PAH was confirmed by right heart catheterization. Demographic and clinical data were obtained. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted based on the low risk profile assessed by a 4-strata risk assessment model (COMPERA 2.0) at follow-up.

Results: Date from 75 patients with CTD-PAH were analysed. The EmPHasis-10 demonstrated satisfactory reliability (Cronbach α = 0.95) and convergent validity showed by the significant relationship with WHO Functional Class (P = 0.003), SF-36 (P < 0.001) and EQ-5D (P = 0.002). EmPHasis-10 was significantly associated with achieving the low risk profile at 12 months of follow-up (Odds ratio: 0.928, P = 0.029) after adjusting for WHO Functional Class.

Conclusion: EmPHasis-10 has acceptable reliability and validity in CTD-PAH patients and may serve as an additional parameter in risk stratification.