Reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-89)

ObjectiveThe aim of the work described here was to develop and validate a Chinese version of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-89 (QOLIE-89).MethodsThe original English version of the QOLIE-89 was adapted to the Chinese language through a translation–retranslation procedure. The inventory was then completed by 293 adult patients with epilepsy. Forty patients also completed the Chinese version of the QOLIE-31. Test–retest and internal consistency reliabilities, criterion validity, and discriminative validity were assessed.ResultsTest–retest reliability (Pearson’s correlation coefficient) for the Chinese version of the QOLIE-89 ranged from 0.70 to 0.98, and internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α) ranged from 0.70 to 0.99. Spearman’s rank correlation between the total scores on the Chinese versions of the QOLIE-89 and QOLIE-31 was 0.97, and domain scores ranged from 0.86 to 1.00. QOLIE-89 items could be used to discriminate between patients with respect to epileptic seizure severity and antiepileptic drug side effects.ConclusionThe psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the QOLIE-89 are good and similar to those of the American version and can be applied to assess quality of life in adult patients with epilepsy in China.